)LCATIONAL  MONOGRAPHS 

d  in  conjunction  with 

'HE'  ELEMENTARY   SCHOOL   JOURNAL 

May  1922 


IE  SELLC .  i     •  CHARACTER  OF 
AMERICAN  SECONDARY 
EDUCATION 

SOUTHERN  BRANCH, 
IITY  OF  CALIFORNIA, 

LIBRARY, 
iLOS  ANGELES,  CALIF. 


7480 


THE  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF 

AMERICAN  SECONDARY 

EDUCATION 


By 
GEORGE  SYLVESTER  COUNTS 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 

49658 


COPYRIGHT  1922  BY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  May  1922 


(N1A 

Education 
Library 

\oA 

^^^ 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Many  persons  have  contributed  to  the  success  of  this  study,  and,  while 
it  is  quite  impossible  to  name  all  those  who  have  helped  in  one  way  or  another 
from  the  securing  of  the  data  to  the  reading  of  the  manuscript,  the  writer 
wishes  particularly  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  kindly  co-operation  of 
the  following  workers  in  the  field  without  which  the  study  would  not  have  been 
possible:  Assistant  Superintendent  G.  M.  Laselle,  Principal  James  C.  Moore, 
Principal  H.  J.  Hanson,  Dr.  A.  C.  Sides,  Mr.  Frank  M.  Ham,  Mrs.  Florence  F. 
Batchelder,  Miss  Katherine  A.  Flanagan,  and  Miss  Harriet  F.  Lambert  of 
Bridgeport;  Superintendent  W.  H.  Holmes  of  Mt.  Vernon;  Assistant  Super- 
intendent W.  J.  S.  Bryan  and  Principals  William  M.  Butler,  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  John  J.  Maddox,  Armand  R.  Miller,  John  R.  Powell,  H.  H.  Ryan, 
and  Frank  L.  Williams  of  St.  Louis;  Vocational  Director  S.  E.  Fleming  and 
Principals  Karl  F.  Adams,  L.  P.  Bennett,  F.  L.  Cassidy,  V.  K.  Froula,  O.  L. 
Luther,  and  James  A.  Reed  of  Seattle;  and  Morton  Snyder  formerly  Princi- 
pal of  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School  and  Principal  Lewis  Perry  of 
the  Phillips-Exeter  Academy. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

LIST  OF  TABLES ix 

LIST  OF  FIGURES riii 

PART  I.    INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER         I.  THE  PROBLEM i 

CHAPTER       II.  SOURCE  AND  COLLECTION  OF  THE  DATA  ....  5 

CHAPTER      III.  CHARACTER  OF  THE  CITIES  CHOSEN  FOR  THE  STUDY     .  14 

PART  II.    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  DATA 

CHAPTER      IV.  PARENTAL  OCCUPATION — CLASSIFICATION      .       .       .  21 

CHAPTER        V.  PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT   .       .  26 
CHAPTER      VI.  PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  PROGRESS  THROUGH  THE 

SCHOOL 36 

CHAPTER     VII.  PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  CHILDREN  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL 

AGE  NOT  JN  HIGH  SCHOOL 46 

CHAPTER  VIII.  PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY     .  55 
CHAPTER      LX.  PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING 

GRADUATION 74 

CHAPTER  X.  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CULTURAL  LEVEL  87 
CHAPTER  XI.  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES  .  95 
CHAPTER  XII.  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT  .  .  106 
CHAPTER  XIII.  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO  .  .  .114 
CHAPTER  XIV.  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELEC- 
TION    124 

CHAPTER     XV.  THE  POPULATION  OF  THE  PRIVATE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  135 

PART  III.     CONCLUSION  AND  INTERPRETATION 

CHAPTER   XVI.  THE  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  AMERICAN  SECONDARY 

EDUCATION 141 

CHAPTER  XVII.  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  DEMOCRACY       ....  149 

INDEX  .              157 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

TABLE  PAGr 

I.  Number  and  sex  of  high-school  students  filling  out  the 

information  card  in  each  of  the  cities 10 

II.  Number  and  sex  of  children  filling  out  the  information  card 

in  each  of  the  non-high-school  groups n 

III.  Number  and  distribution  of  children  taking  the  intelligence 

tests ii 

IV.  Increase  of  population  in  each  of  the  four  cities  from  1870  to 

1920 15 

V.  Racial  and  ethnic  composition  of  the  populations  of  the  four 

cities  according  to  the  Census  of  1910  .       .       ;     '  .       .       16 
VI.  Nativity  of  foreign-born  whites  and  parents  of  native  whites 

of  foreign  parentage  in  the  four  cities  (1910)       .       .       .       17 
VII.  Total  number  of  persons  ten  years  of  age  or  over  engaged  in 

each  specified  occupation  in  each  of  the  four  cities  (1910)       18 
VIII.  Number  of  children  of  high-school  age,  number  of  children  in 
the  public  high  schools,  and  percentage  of  children  of  high- 
school  age  in  the  public  high  schools  in  each  of  the  four 

cities  and  in  the  United  States  in  1918 20 

IX.  Occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians  of  17,265  students  in 
the  high  schools  of  four  cities — all  four  years  combined. 
— 1919-20,  1920-21 26 

X.  Probable  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians  of  100  high- 
school  students  takeri  at  random  from  the  high-school 
populations  of  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and 

Seattle — all  four  years  combined 29 

XI.  Probable  age-distribution  of  the  fathers  of  1,000  high-school 
students,  derived  from  data  given  by  1,391  students  in 

Lincoln  High  School,  Seattle 30 

XII.  Percentage  of  males  engaged  in  each  occupation  who  are 
forty-five  years  of  age  and  over,  derived  from  the  Census 
figures  for  selected  occupations  in  Bridgeport,  St.  Louis, 

and  Seattle  (1910) 32 

XIII.  Estimated  number  of  men  forty-five  years  of  age  and  over 
engaged  in  each  set  of  occupations  in  Bridgeport,  Mt. 
Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  (1910);  number  of  high- 
school  students  whose  fathers  or  guardians  are  engaged  in 


LIST  OF  TABLES 

TABLE  PAGE 

each  set  of  occupations  in  the  same  cities,  according  to 
studies  made  in  1919-20  and  1920-21;  and  number  of  the 
latter  for  every  1,000  of  the  former  for  each  set  of  occupa- 
tions .  .  .  .  .  . 33 

XIV.  Percentage  of  students  in  each  of  two  high-school  years  from 
each  of  the  occupational  groups  in  the  high  schools  of 
Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle.  Data 
from  6,782  Freshmen  and  2,522  Seniors  ....  37 

XV.  Percentage  of  children  from  each  occupational  group  in  each 
of  two  school  grades.  Data  from  739  children  in  the  sixth 
grade  and  136  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school, 
Mt.  Vernon 40 

XVI.  Probable  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians  of  100  high- 
school  seniors  taken  at  random  from  the  high-school  popu- 
lations of  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  44 

XVII.  Percentage  distribution  of  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or 
guardians  of  two  groups  of  children.  Data  from  514  chil- 
dren of  high-school  age  at  work  and  6,138  children  in  high 
school,  Seattle  .  ..." 47 

XVIII.  Selection  of  curricula  by  children  from  the  various  occupa- 
tional groups,  Bridgeport  High  School,  all  classes  .  .  56 

XIX.'  Number  and  percentage  of  students  from  each  occupational 
group  pursuing  each  of  the  five  curricula.  Boys  and  girls 
combined.  Mt.  Vernon  High  School 61 

XX.  Percentage  of  students  in  each  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  high  schools 

coming  from  each  occupational  group 61 

XXI.  Selection  of  curricula  by  children  from  the  various  occupa- 
tional groups.  St.  Louis  high  schools  (white),  all  classes  65 

XXII.  Percentage  of  girls  from  each  occupational  group  pursuing  the 
general  and  the  two-year  commercial  courses.  St.  Louis 
high  schools,  all  classes,  December,  1920  ....  66 

XXIII.  Percentage  distribution  of  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of 

67  students  pursuing  the  classical  course  and  189  the  fine 
arts  course  in  the  St.  Louis  high  schools,  all  classes  .  .  68 

XXIV.  Selection  of  curricula  by  children  from  the  various  occupa- 

tional groups  in  the  Seattle  high  schools,  all  classes  .       .       70 

XXV.  Probable  distribution  of  100  girls  from  each  occupational 
group  over  the  six  courses  open  to  girls  in  the  Seattle  high 
schools,  all  classes 71 


LIST  OF  TABLES  ±i 

TABLE  PAGE 

XXVI.  Probable  distribution  of  too  boys  from  each  occupational 
group  over  the  five  curricula  open  to  boys  in  the  Seattle 

high  schools,  all  classes 72 

XXVII.  Expectations  following  graduation  of  9,286  girls  in  the  high 

schools  of  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle      76 

XXVIII.  Percentage  of  girls  from  each  occupational  group  intending  to 
go  to  college,  enter  normal  school,  or  engage  in  clerical  work 
on  leaving  high  school.    Data  from  9,286  students  in 
Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  ...       78 
XXLX.  Percentage  distribution  of  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or 
guardians  of  3,391  girls  in  all  four  high-school  years  and  of 
688  girls  in  the  Senior  year  who  are  intending  to  go  to  col- 
lege.    Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle      .       79 
XXX.  Expectations  following  graduation  of  7,979  boys  in  the  high 

schools  of  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle      82 
XXXI.  Number  and  percentage  of  boys  from  each  occupational  group 
intending  to  go  to  college  after  graduation  from  high  school 
in  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle,  all 
classes 84 

XXXII.  Occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians  of  451  students  in 
the  first  year  of  the  high  school  who  do  not  expect  to  com- 
plete the  course,  and  the  percentage  from  each  occupational 
group  not  expecting  to  complete  the  course.  Data  from 
6,782  Freshmen  in  the  high  schools  of  Bridgeport,  Mt. 
Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle 86 

XXXIII.  Percentage  of  students  pursuing  each  curriculum  in  whose 

homes  there  are  telephones.    Mt.  Vernon  high  schools,  all 
years 93 

XXXIV.  Percentage  of  students  in  the  high  schools  of  Bridgeport, 

Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle,  having  one  or  both 
parents  deceased.    Data  from  17,265  cases         ...       96 
XXXV.  Percentage  of  students  in  each  year  of  the  high  school  having 
one  or  both  parents  deceased.    Data  from  17,265  cases  in 
Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  ...       98 
XXXVI.  Percentage  of  students  in  each  of  two  groups  having  one  or 
both  parents  deceased.    Data  from  4,437  students  in  the 
Freshman  year  of  the  high  school  in  Bridgeport,  Mt. 
Vernon,  and  St.  Louis 100 

XXXVII.  Number  of  high-school  students  in  four  cities  having  each 

indicated  number  of  brothers  and  sisters      ....     103 

XXXVIII.  Number  of  first  born  for  every  i  oolastborn  children  in  each  of 

four  groups  of  children  of  high-school  age  in  Bridgeport   .     105 


xii  LIST  OF  TABLES 

TABLE  PAGE 

XXXIX.  Nativity  of  the  fathers  of  2,257  students  in  the  Bridgeport 

High  School       ; 107 

XL.  Nativity  of  the  fathers  of  children  in  evening  high  school, 
trade  school,  and  compulsory  continuation  classes, 
Bridgeport  ..........  109 

XLI.  Nativity  of  fathers  of  children  in  the  Mt.  Vernon  sixth  grade 

and  in  each  year  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  high  schools.       .       .no 

XLII.  Percentage  of  girls  in  each  group  pursuing  each  of  the  cur- 
ricula open  to  girls  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School.  Girls 
grouped  according  to  nativity  of  fathers  .  .  .  .in 

XLIII.  Percentage  of  boys  in  each  group  pursuing  each  of  the  cur- 
ricula open  to  boys  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School.  Boys 
grouped  according  to  nativity  of  fathers  .  .  .  .112 

XLIV.  Number  of  boys  to  100  girls  in  Bridgeport  High  School. 
Students  grouped  according  to  nativity  of  fathers.  Data 

from  2,257  cases  I 113 

XLV.  Distribution  by  sex  and  year  in  high  school  of  727  students 

in  the  Sumner  (colored)  High  School  of  St.  Louis      .       .     115 
XLVI.  Occupations  of  the  fathers  of  727  students  in  the  Sumner 

(colored)  High  School  of  St.  Louis 116 

XL VII.  Percentage  of  students  in  the  colored  and  white  high  schools 

of  St.  Louis  having  one  or  both  parents  deceased     .       .     117 
XL VIII.  Percentage  of  girl  students  in  the  colored  and  white  high 

schools  of  St.  Louis  pursuing  the  different  curricula  .       .119 
XLLX.  Percentage  of  boy  students  in  the  colored  and  white  high 

schools  of  St.  Louis  pursuing  the  different  curricula  .       .120 
L.  Expectations  following  graduation  of  girls  in  the  colored  and 

white  high  schools  of  St.  Louis 121 

LI.  Expectations  following  graduation  of  boys  in  the  colored  and 

white  high  schools  of  St.  Louis 122 

LII.  Median  scores  made  by  girls  and  boys  in  each  year  of  the 
high  school  in  Bridgeport.  Chapman-Welles  Test.  Data 

from  2,537  cases 124 

LIII.  Median  scores  made  by  girls  and  boys  in  the  first  year  of  the 
high  school,  the  evening  high  school,  the  first  year  of  the 
trade  school,  and  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  in 

Bridgeport.     Chapman-Welles  Test 125 

LIV.  Median  scores  made  by  girls  and  boys  in  the  various  cur- 
ricula in  the  Bridgeport  High  School.  Chapman-Welles 
Test  128 


LIST  OF  TABLES  xiii 

TABLE  PAGE 

LV.  Median  scores  made  by  Freshman  girls  and  boys  in  each  type 
of  curriculum  in  the  Mt.  Vernon  High  School.  National 

Intelligence  Tests ..129 

LVL  Scores  made  by  girls  and  boys  from  different  occupational 
groups  in  the  Chapman-Welles  Test.  In  each  case  the 
median  scores  made  in  the  four  high-school  years  are  aver- 
aged. Data  from  Bridgeport  High  School  .  .  .  .  .129 
LVII.  Median  scores  made  by  Freshmen  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  High 
School  in  the  National  Intelligence  Tests,  classified  accord- 
ing to  the  occupation  of  the  father 130 

LVIII.  Scores  made  in  Chapman-Welles  Test  by  girls  and  boys, 
classified  according  to  nativity  of  the  father.  Median 
scores  made  in  the  four  school  years  are  averaged  in  each 
case.  Bridgeport  High  School 131 

LLX.  Comparison  of  scores  made  by  firstborn  and  lastborn  children 
in  the  Bridgeport  High  School  in  the  Chapman-Welles 
Test.  In  each  case  the  median  scores  made  in  the  four 

high-school  years  are  averaged .132 

LX.  Comparison  of  median  scores  made  in  the  National  Intelli- 
gence Tests  by  firstborn  and  lastborn  children  in  the  Mt. 
Vernon  High  School 133 

LXI.  Comparison  of  median  scores  made  in  Chapman- Welles  Test 
by  children  coming  from  families  of  three  different  sizes 
in  the  Bridgeport  High  School.  In  each  case  the  median 
scores  made  in  the  four  high-school  years  are  averaged  .  133 
LXH.  Comparison  of  median  scores  made  in  the  National  Intelli- 
gence Tests  by  children  coming  from  families  of  three 
different  sizes  in  the  Mt.  Vernon  High  School  .  .  .  134 

LXIII.  Occupations  of  fathers  or  guardians  of  201  students  in 
Phillips-Exeter  Academy  and  418  in  the  University  of 
Chicago  High  School 136 

LXIV.  Occupations  of  fathers  or  guardians  of  17,265  students  in  the 
public  high  schools  of  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis, 
and  Seattle,  and  619  students  in  the  Phillips-Exeter 
Academy  and  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School  .  138 

LXV.  Nativity  of  fathers  of  619  students  in  the  Phillips-Exeter 

Academy  and  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School       .     139 

LXVI.  Median  number  of  brothers  and  sisters  of  the  students  in  the 
public  high  schools  of  four  cities  and  in  two  private 
secondary  schools 140 


LIST  OF  FIGURES 

FIGURE  PAGE 

1.  Showing  relative  rates  of  increase  in  the  total  population,  the  number 

of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  elementary  school,  and  the  number  of 
students  enrolled  in  the  public  high  school.  United  States,  1870- 
1918 2 

2.  Showing  the  number  of  children  in  the  high  schools  of  four  cities 

(Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  Seattle)  from  each  occupa- 
tional group  for  every  1,000  males  over  forty-five  years  of  age 
engaged  in  that  occupation  in  the  four  cities,  according  to  the 
Federal  Census  for  1910.  Data  from  16,283  high-school  students  33 

3.  Showing  for  each  occupational  group  the  number  of  students  in  the 

Senior  year  for  every  100  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the  high  school. 
Data  from  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  .  .  38 

4.  Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  grade  from  the  sixth  to  the 

twelfth  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  each  of  four  groups  of  occupa- 
tions. Mt.  Vernon,  May,  1921 40 

5.  Showing  for  each  occupational  group  the  number  of  children  in  the 

Senior  year  of  the  high  school  for  every  100  from  the  same  group  in 

the  sixth  grade  of  the  elementary  school.     Mt.  Vernon,  May,  1921       42 

6.  Showing  the  number  of  children  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school 

in  four  cities  (Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  Seattle)  from  each 
occupational  group  for  every  i  ,000  males  over  forty-five  years  of  age 
engaged  in  that  occupation  in  the  four  cities,  according  to  the 
Federal  Census  for  1910.  Data  from  2,382  high-school  Seniors  .  42 

7.  Showing  the  number  of  children  from  each  occupational  group 

among  children  of  high-school  age  at  work  for  every  100  children 
from  the  same  group  attending  high  school.  Data  from  6,387  chil- 
dren in  high  school  and  514  at  work.  Seattle,  1919-20  ...  48 

8.  Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  243  students 

attending  the  high-school  department  of  the  evening  school. 
Bridgeport,  December,  1920 49 

9.  Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  198  students 

in  the  state  trade  school.    Bridgeport,  February,  1921    ...       51 

10.  Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  579  children 
attending  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  of  the  evening 
school.  Bridgeport,  December,  1920 53 


xvi  LIST  OF  FIGURES 

FIGURE  PAGE 

11.  Showing  the  number  of  children  from  each  occupational  group  among 

children  of  high-school  age  not  in  high  school  (evening  high  school, 
trade  school,  and  compulsory  continuation  classes)  for  every  100 
students  from  the  same  group  attending  the  regular  day  high 
school.  Data  from  2,257  children  in  high  school  and  1,020  in  the 
other  three  groups.  Bridgeport,  1920-21 53 

12.  Showing  the  percentage  of  girls  from  each  occupational  group  pur- 

suing the  college  preparatory  and  commercial  curricula .  B  ridgeport 
High  School 57 

13.  Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  the  250  girls 

pursuing  the  college  preparatory  course  in  the  Bridgeport  High 
School 58 

14.  Showing  for  each  occupational  group  the  number  of  students  (both 

sexes  and  all  classes)  in  the  vocational  high  school  for  every  100 
from  the  same  group  in  the  academic  high  school.  Data  from  306 
students  in  the  former  and  778  in  the  latter.  Mt.  Vernon  .  .  62 

15.  Showing  the  percentage  of  boys  from  each  occupational  group  pur- 

suing the  two-  and  one-year  vocational  courses.  St.  Louis  high 
schools  (white) 67 

16.  Showing  the  percentage  of  girl  students  in  each  of  the  high-school 

years  intending  either  to  go  to  college  or  to  enter  clerical  service 
following  graduation.  Data  from  9,286  girls  in  the  high  schools  of 
Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  .  .  .  .  77 

17.  Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians 

of  688  girls  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  who  are  intending 

to  go  to  college.     Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle      80 

1 8.  Showing  for  each  of  two  occupational  groups  the  percentage  of  girls 

in  each  year  of  the  high  school  intending  to  go  to  college.  Bridge- 
port, Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle 81 

19.  Showing  the  percentage  of  girls  and  the  percentage  of  boys  in  each 

year  of  the  high  school  intending  to  go  to  college.  Bridgeport, 
Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle 83 

20.  Showing  for  each  of  two  occupational  groups  the  percentage  of  boys  in 

each  year  of  the  high  school  intending  to  go  to  college.  Bridgeport, 
Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle 85 

21.  Showing  the  average  number  of  telephones  per  1,000  inhabitants  in 

five  groups  of  states  in  191 7,  arranged  in  order  of  the  percentage  that 
high-school  attendance  was  of  total  public-school  attendance  in 
1918 89 


LIST  OF  FIGURES  xvii 

FIGURE  PACE 

22.  Showing  the  percentage  of  children  in  the  high  school,  the  trade 

school,  and  the  compulsory  continuation  classes,  in  whose  homes 
there  are  telephones.  Data  from  2,531,  from  198,  and  from  421 
cases  respectively.  Bridgeport,  February  and  March,  1921  .  .  90 

23.  Showing  the  percentage  of  students  in  each  year  of  the  Bridgeport 

High  School  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.    March,  1921      90 

24.  Showing  the  percentage  of  girls  in  each  of  three  curricula  in  the 

Bridgeport  High  School  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones. 
March,  1921 91 

25.  Showing  the  percentage  of  boys  in  each  of  five  curricula  in  the  Bridge- 

port High  School  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  March, 
1921 91 

26.  Showing  for  each  grade  from  the  sixth  to  the  Senior  year  of  the  high 

school  the  percentage  of  children  in  whose  homes  there  are  tele- 
phones. No  data  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  Mt.  Vernon, 
May,  1921 93 

27.  Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  two  groups  having  one  or 

both  parents  deceased.    Data  from  514  children  of  high-school  age 

at  work  and  6,387  children  in  high  school.     Seattle,  1919-20     .       99 

28.  Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  four  groups  having  one  or 

both  parents  deceased.    Bridgeport,  1920-21    .       .       .       .       .      99 

29.  Showing  the  percentage  of  children  in  the  sixth  grade  and  in  the  high 

school  whose  mothers  are  engaged  in  remunerative  employment. 
Mt.  Vernon,  May,  1921 101 

30.  Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  four  groups  whose  mothers 

are  working  at  remunerative  employment.    Bridgeport,  1919-20  .     102 

31.  Showing  median  number  of  brothers  and  sisters  for  the  children  in 

each  of  four  groups.    Bridgeport,  1920-21 104 

32.  Showing  for  each  ethnic  group  the  number  of  students  in  the  Senior 

year  for  every  100  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the  high  school.  Data 
from  2,257  cases.  Bridgeport 108 

33.  Showing  the  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  four  groups  whose 

fathers  were  born  in  the  United  States.     Bridgeport       .       .       .no 

34.  Comparing  the  negro  and  white  high-school  students  in  St.  Louis 

with  respect  to  the  percentage  having  one  or  both  parents  deceased    117 

35.  Showing  percentage  of  negro  and  white  children  in  St.  Louis  high 

schools  whose  mothers  are  engaged  in  remunerative  employment     118 

36.  Comparing  whites  and  negroes  with  respect  to  size  of  family  from 

which  the  high-school  students  come.    St.  Louis  .       .       .       .118 

37.  Showing  the  median  score  made  in  the  Chapman- Welles  Test  by  the 

boys  in  each  of  four  groups.    Bridgeport 125 


xviii  LIST  OF  FIGURES 

% 

FIGURE  PAGE 

38.  Showing  by  percentages  the  distribution  of  scores  made  by  each  of 

three  groups  of  boys  in  the  Chapman-Welles  Test.  Data  from  426 
boys  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school,  112  boys  in  the  first  year 
of  the  trade  school,  and  201  boys  in  the  compulsory  continuation 
classes.  Bridgeport 126 

39.  Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians  of 

619  students  in  Phillips-Exeter   Academy  and   the   University 

of  Chicago  High  School.    June,  1921 137 


PART  I.    INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER  I 
THE  PROBLEM 

For  two  generations  the  public  high  school  in  the  United  States  has 
grown  at  such  a  rapid  rate  as  to  give  it  a  unique  place  in  the  history  of 
educational  institutions.  Appearing  late  in  the  first  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  it  at  once  entered  into  a  struggle  for  survival  with 
the  dominant  secondary  school  of  the  time,  the  private  academy.  For  a 
half-century  the  high  school  maintained  itself  with  more  or  less  success, 
and  was  well  established  by  1870.  During  the  fifty  years  that  have 
elapsed  in  the  meantime  it  has  expanded  in  a  manner  quite  without 
precedent.  From  1890  to  1918  the  number  of  high  schools  reporting 
to  the  Bureau  at  Washington  increased  from  2,526  to  13,951 ;  the  number 
of  pupils  in  attendance  from  202,963  to  1,645,171;  and  the  number  of 
teachers  from  9,120  to  81,034.  At  the  same  time  the  population  of  the 
United  States  increased  from  62,622,250  to  approximately  105,253,000. 
Thus  while  the  high-school  enrolment  increased  711  per  cent  the  total 
population  increased  but  68  per  cent.  From  year  to  year  this  institution 
has  constantly  attracted  a  larger  and  larger  proportion  of  the  children 
of  high-school  age  in  the  nation. 

This  remarkable  expansion  of  the  high  school  is  impressively  pictured 
in  Figure  I  in  which  the  high-school  enrolment  is  compared  with  that  of 
the.  elementary  school  and  with  the  total  population  at  five-year  periods 
from  1870  to  1918.  The  curve  for  the  high  school  begins  with  1871 
instead  of  the  year  before,  because  data  for  1870  are  not  available. 
That  the  curves  for  the  three  series  may  be  easily  compared  they  are 
based  on  index  numbers,  derived  as  indicated  in  the  explanation  of  the 
diagram.  It  is  seen  at  once  that  the  high-school  curve  is  distinctly 
different  from  the  curves  for  the  elementary  school  and  the  total  popula- 
tion. The  latter  are  almost  identical  and  show  a  steady  progression  of 
the  arithmetical  type.  The  increase  of  the  elementary-school  enrolment 
for  fifty  years  has  evidently  been  a  function  of  the  general  population 
increase.  The  curve  for  the  high  school,  on  the  other  hand,  is  of  the 
geometrical  order.  For  the  first  decade,  from  1870  to  1880,  the  increase 
in  high-school  enrolment  actually  failed  to  keep  pace  with  the  growth 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


of  population;  during  the  following  decade  the  two  series  were  parallel; 
and  since  1890  the  high-school  enrolment  has  been  growing  at  a  rate 
constantly  accelerated  from  period  to  period  without  showing  any 
marked  dependence  on  the  general  increase  of  population.  Truly  the 
American  public  high  school  occupies  a  unique  place  among  educational 
institutions. 


300 


250 


3      ISO 


Total  population 
Elementary-school  enrolment 
High-school  enrolment 


1870 


1880 


1890      1900 
Year 


1910 


FIG.  i. — Showing  relative  rates  of  increase  in  the  total  population,  the  number 
of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  elementary  school,  and  the  number  of  students  enrolled  in 
the  public  high  school,  United  States,  1870-1918.  The  index  numbers  are  found 
by  dividing  the  total  population  and  the  total  enrolment  for  each  date  by  the  respec- 
tive averages  for  the  eleven  periods  considered.  (Adapted  from  U.S.  Bureau  of 
Education  Bulletin,  No.  ig,  1920,  p.  47.) 

And  the  end  is  not  yet,  as  the  merest  glance  at  the  high-school  curve 
shows.  In  view  of  the  direction  it  is  taking  today,  apparently  there  is 
but  one  ultimate  limitation  to  the  increase  in  the  high-school  registration, 
and  that  is  to  be  found  in  the  number  of  children  of  high-school  age  in 
the  population.  We  are  already  hearing  murmurings  about  universal 
secondary  education.  It  is  pointed  out  that,  in  spite  of  the  very  rapid 
increase  in  high-school  enrolment  in  recent  years,  there  are  enrolled 
today  in  our  secondary  schools,  both  public  and  private,  only  about 


THE  PROBLEM  3 

2,000,000  out  of  a  total  of  approximately  8,300,000  children  of  high-school 
age  in  the  nation.  Some  of  our  states  are  passing  compulsory  education 
laws  that  break  with  'our  tradition  of  compulsory  education  for  the 
elementary  period  only,  and  point  toward  some  measure  of  compulsory 
secondary  education. 

The  conception  of  secondary  education  as  education  for  the  selected 
few,  whether  by  birth  or  by  talent,  appears  to  be  giving  ground  before 
the  assaults  of  political  democracy  and  the  demands  of  a  society  of 
increasing  complexity  and  wealth.  Some  are  saying  that,  as  public 
elementary  education  is  no  longer  education  for  the  masses,  but  rather 
education  for  childhood,  so  secondary  education  is  no  longer  education 
for  the  classes,  but  rather  education  for  adolescence.  Thus  in  a 
statement  made  by  the  teachers  of  the  Washington  Irving  High  School 
for  Girls  in  New  York  City  in  1911  we  find  these  words:  "A  public  high 
school  differs  from  an  elementary  school  chiefly  in  the  age  of  its  children." 
Such  a  statement  marks  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  secondary  education. 

In  view  of  the  remarkable  increase  in  high-school  enrolment  and  the 
changing  conception  of  secondary  education,  it  is  becoming  increasingly 
pertinent  to  inquire  into  the  character  of  that  student  population  which 
is  attracted  to  the  public  high  school.  And  it  is  the  object  of  the  present 
study  to  make  such  an  inquiry,  at  least  in  so  far  as  the  city  high  school 
is  concerned. 

Is  it  true  in  practice  that  the  public  high  school  differs  from  the 
elementary  school  chiefly  in  the  age  of  its  children?  Has  the  revolu- 
tionary increase  in  the  high-school  enrolment  involved  the  abandonment 
of  the  selective  principle  in  secondary  education  ?  And  more  specifically, 
from  what  occupational  groups  do  the  high-school  students  come  ?  Are 
all  social  classes  fairly  well  represented?  Is  the  public  high  school 
popular  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word,  or  are  we  maintaining  at  public 
expense  a  secondary  institution  for  certain  favored  classes  in  spite 
of  this  extraordinary  growth  of  recent  decades?  Are  the  children 
of  immigrants,  the  very  children  whose  years  in  high  school  might  be 
expected  to  yield  the  largest  returns  to  both  the  individual  and  society, 
to  be  found  in  the  high  school  in  proportionate  numbers  ?  Do  the  various 
immigrant  groups  exhibit  special  or  characteristic  traits  toward  high- 
school  attendance  ?  What  is  the  reaction  of  the  negro  toward  the  public 
high  school  ?  How  are  the  children  from  the  different  social,  cultural, 
and  racial  elements  grouping  themselves  in  the  high  school  with  respect 
to  the  courses  pursued  ?  What  are  their  expectations  following  gradua- 
tion? From  the  standpoint  of  securing  a  secondary  education  is  it 


fortunate  or  unfortunate  to  be  the  last-born  ?  How  great  is  the  mis- 
fortune of  losing  one  or  both  parents  ?  What  is  the  psychological  equip- 
ment of  those  children  who  enter  high  school,  as  compared  with  those 
who  do  not  ?  Who  remain  for  graduation  ?  In  a  word,  what  is  the 
sociological  and  psychological  character  of  the  public  high  school 
population?  Many  of  these  questions  have  received  consideration 
in  other  investigations — they  all  receive  some  attention  in  the  present 
study,  although  the  emphasis  throughout  is  sociological  rather  than 
psychological. 

It  is  clear  that  a  thorough  study  of  the  high-school  population  is 
fundamental  to  the  solution  of  all  problems  of  organization  and  adminis- 
tration. The  high-school  student  should  furnish  the  point  of  departure 
for  the  wise  determination  of  high-school  policy  and  practice. 

It  is  equally  clear  that  an  adequate  social  interpretation  of  the  high 
school  must  rest  upon  relatively  complete  knowledge  of  the  social 
sources  from  which  its  population  comes,  as  well  as  on  comparatively 
general  agreement  as  to  the  objectives  at  which  the  school  is  aiming. 
The  contact  which  the  high  school  makes  with  the  social  order  through 
the  Freshman  year  is  as  significant  as  that  which  it  makes  through  the 
graduating  class.  With  the  former  are  bound  up  questions  of  large 
social  import,  such  as  the  relation  of  groups  to  groups,  the  stability  of 
classes,  the  source  of  leadership,  and  the  distribution  of  power,  at  least 
in  so  far  as  these  matters  may  be  affected  by  the  secondary  school.  It 
is  hoped  that  this  study  will  make  some  contribution  toward  such  an 
interpretation. 


CHAPTER  II 
SOURCE  AND  COLLECTION  OF  THE  DATA 

In  attacking  this  problem  it  was  decided  to  take  a  complete  census 
of  the  high-school  population  in  several  American  cities  representing 
different  parts  of  the  country.  Obviously,  returns  from  a  single  high 
school  drawing  its  students  from  a  single  quarter  of  one  of  our  large 
cities  would  not  be  satisfactory  because  of  the  well-known  tendency  of 
populations  of  similar  social  and  economic  standing  to  gravitate  to  the 
same  section  of  the  city.  It  was  thought  desirable  to  study  a  community 
sufficiently  complex  to  present  all  the  more  important  groups  (except 
the  agricultural)  found  in  modern  society,  and  sufficiently  large  to  provide 
representation  of  each  of  the  groups  adequate  for  statistical  purposes. 
For  these  reasons  an  entire  city  was  studied  in  each  case. 

THE    GROUPS   STUDIED 

The  cities  chosen  for  the  central  part  of  the  study  were  Seattle, 
Washington;  St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Bridgeport,  Connecticut;  and  Mt. 
Vernon,  New  York.  These  four  cities  were  selected  primarily  because 
it  was  found  possible  to  secure  data  from  them,  and  not  because  they 
represent  an  ideal  combination  to  picture  the  condition  of  secondary 
education  in  the  United  States.  The  writer  has  worked  in  St.  Louis, 
Seattle,  and  Bridgeport  in  one  capacity  or  another  that  has  brought  him 
in  touch  with  the  public  schools  in  these  places.  It  was,  therefore,  pos- 
sible to  get  that  degree  of  co-operation  in  gathering  the  data  that  is  neces- 
sary to  insure  reasonable  accuracy  in  so  comprehensive  a  study.  Mt. 
Vernon  was  chosen  because  records  from  the  National  Intelligence  Tests 
were  already  available  for  all  students  in  the  elementary  school  and  the 
first  year  of  the  high  school.  Nevertheless,  a  fairly  good  case  can  be 
made  out  for  the  selection  of  these  cities  from  the  standpoint  of  their 
representative  character,  as  will  be  pointed  out  in  the  following  chapter. 

In  addition  to  the  census  of  the  high-school  population,  data  were 
secured  from  certain  other  groups  in  Seattle,  Bridgeport,  and  Mt. 
Vernon,  which  it  was  thought  would  throw  light  on  our  problem.  In 
Seattle  a  study  was  made  of  children  of  high-school  age  at  work  hi  the 
commercial  and  industrial  plants  of  that  city.  In  Bridgeport  facts  were 
secured  from  three  additional  groups  of  children:  (i)  those  attending 


6  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

the  evening  high  school;  (2)  those  enrolled  in  the  state  trade  school,  an 
institution  offering  an  intensive  and  practical  two-year  course  in  some 
fifteen  trades  and  operating  under  the  provisions  of  the  Smith-Hughes 
Act;  and  (3)  those  found  in  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  of  the 
evening  school,  an  interesting  Connecticut  institution  enrolling  children 
between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and  sixteen  years  who  have  left  the  regular 
day-school  to  go  to  work  without  having  completed  the  elementary 
grades.  In  Mt.  Vernon  the  sixth  grade  was  included  in  making  the 
study.  Facts  from  these  non-high-school  groups  are  of  exceptional  value 
in  interpreting  the  data  from  the  high-school  students. 

Also  for  the  purpose  of  getting  some  idea  of  the  character  of  that  large 
body  of  young  folk  attending  the  private  secondary  schools  of  the 
country,  data  were  secured  from  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School 
and  the  Phillips-Exeter  Academy.  A  separate  chapter  will  be  set  aside 
for  the  analysis  and  interpretation  of  data  secured  from  these  sources. 

THE   METHOD   OF  PROCEDURE 

With  a  few  exceptions  a  uniform  procedure  was  followed  in  getting 
the  data.  In  the  schools,  both  high  and  otherwise,  a  card  similar  to  the 
one  reproduced  below  was  filled  out  by  all  the  children  in  attendance  on 
a  certain  day. 

MOUNT  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Date 

Name Sex Age yrs mos. 

Grade  in  high  school Course 

Is  there  a  telephone  in  your  home  or  the  home  in  which  you  live  ? 

Language  or  languages  spoken  in  your  home 

Information  about  father:  Living? Country  of  birth 

Present  occupation Where  or  for  whom  does  he  work  ? 

Is  he  either  owner  or  part  owner  of  the  business  in  which  he  works  ? 

Occupation  while  alive  or  while  working  if  not  living  or  working  now  ? 

Information  about  mother:  Living? Country  of  birth 

Helping  to  support  family  ? If  so,  how  ? : 

If  you  have  a  guardian,  give  his  occupation 

How  many  brothers  and  sisters  have  you  ? How  many  are  older  than  you  ? 

Do  you  expect  to  complete  your  high  school  course  ? 

If  not,  why  not  ? What  do  you  intend  to  do 

after  graduation  from  high  school  ? 

To  each  teacher  in  charge  of  a  "home  room"  was  sent  the  number 
of  cards  required.  Along  with  this  set  of  cards  went  a  single  card  filled 
out  for  a  hypothetical  case,  and  the  following  set  of  instructions: 


SOURCE  AND  COLLECTION  OF  THE  DATA 


The  chief  object  of  this  investigation  is  to  discover  the  extent  to  which  the 
students  in  the  public  high  school  are  drawn  from  the  different  population 
groups.  The  items  relating  to  the  parents  are,  therefore,  to  be  regarded  as  the 
most  significant.  The  others  are  of  subordinate  interest. 

The  high-school  student  should  fill  in  every  blank  (provided,  of  course,  the 
question  is  pertinent  to  his  case)  except  the  one  for  his  name.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  have  the  student's  name,  if  care  is  taken  to  fill  out  the  card  accurately 
and  fully.  This  item  would  be  of  value  only  in  case  it  should  be  found  desirable 
to  refer  the  card  to  the  student  for  more  complete  and  definite  information. 

In  answering  the  questions  relating  to  the  occupation  of  the  father,  it  is 
particularly  important  that  the  answer  be  as  definite  as  possible,  in  order  that 
the  father  may  at  least  be  accurately  placed  in  one  of  the  larger  occupational 
divisions,  such  as,  unskilled  labor,  semi-skilled  labor,  skilled  labor,  the  clerical 
occupations,  personal  service,  the  professions,  the  managerial  and  employing 
occupations.  There  are  two  types  of  answers  to  be  avoided.  There  is  the 
vague  and  indefinite  answer  such  as  "shipyards."  Unless  this  is  accompanied 
by  a  statement  of  what  the  father  does  in  the  shipyards,  the  answer  is  without 
value.  In  the  second  place,  the  student  may  use  a  term  which  has  several 
meanings,  such  as  "agent"  or  "engineer."  Obviously  such  an  answer  may  be 
variously  construed.  There  are  many  different  kinds  of  agents  and  several 
different  kinds  of  engineers.  The  questions  concerning  the  father's  place  of 
work  and  his  ownership  in  the  business  are  for  the  purpose  of  checking  and 
clarifying  the  response  to  the  question  about  occupation.  It  may  be  helpful 
in  securing  accurate  information  to  consult  the  following  list  which,  according 
to  the  United  States  Census  for  1910.  includes  the  principal  occupations  of  the 
people  of  the  United  States: 


Actors 

Agents,  general 

Agents,  insurance 

Agents,  railway  station 

Agents,  real  estate 

Architects 

Authors 

Baggagemen 

Bakers 

Barbers,  Hairdressers 

Bartenders 

Blacksmiths 

Boarding-house  keepers 

Boiler-makers 

Bookkeepers 

Brakemen 

Brokers,  commercial 

Brokers,  stock 

Builders 

Butchers 


Cabinet-makers 

Candy-makers 

Canvassers 

Carpenters 

Carriage  drivers 

Chambermaids 

Chauffeurs 

Chemists 

Cigarmakers 

Clay-  and  stone-workers 

Clergymen 

Clerks,  store 

Clerks,  other 

Collectors 

Cooks 

Commercial  travelers 

Compositors 

Conductors,  steam  railway 

Conductors,  street  railway 

Coopers 


Dairy  farmers 

Deliverymen 

Dentists 

Designers 

Detectives,  Marshals,  etc. 

Domestics,  general 

Draftsmen 

Dressmakers 

Druggists 

Dyers 

Editors 

Electricians 

Electrotypers,  Stereotypers 

Elevator  tenders 

Engineers,  civil 

Locomotive 

Mining 

Stationary 
Engravers 
Express  messengers 


8 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


Fanners 
Filers,  Grinders 
Firemen,  fire  department 

Locomotive 

Stationary 
Fishermen 

Foremen,  manufacturing 
Foresters 
Furnacemen 
Gardeners,  Florists 
Glassblowers 
Hatmakers 
Hostlers  , 
Hotelkeepers 
Housekeepers,  Stewards 
Janitors 
Jewelers 
Laborers,  domestic 

Farm 

Garden 

General 

Public  Service 

Railroad 

Store 

Launderers  (not  in  laundry) 
Lawyers,  Judges 
Lithographers 
Longshoremen 
Lumbermen 


Machinists 

Mail  carriers 

Mail  clerks,  railway 

Other 

Managers,  manufacturing 
Manufacturers 
Masons,  brick  and  stone 
Merchants,  retail 

Wholesale 
Millers,  grain,  etc. 
Milliners 
Miners 

Molders,  Founders 
Motormen 
Musicians 
Nurses,  not  trained 

Others,  trained 
Officials,  city 

State  and  U.S. 
Opticians 
Paperhangers 
Pattern-makers 
Photographers 
Physicians,  Surgeons 
Plasterers 
Plumbers 
Policemen 
Porters  (not  store) 
Postmasters 


Pressmen,  printing 

Professors,  college 

Reporters 

Restaurant-keepers 

Roofers 

Sailors  (U.S.  Service) 

Others 

Salesmen,  and  saleswomen 
Saloon-keepers 
Sawyers 
Sewers  (factory) 
Shoemakers  (not  factory) 
Showmen 
Soldiers 
Stenographers 
Stonecutters 
Surgeons,  veterinary 
Switchmen,  Yardmen 
Tailors 
Teachers 
Teamsters 
Telegraph  operators 
Telephone  operators 
Tinsmiths 
Undertakers 
Upholsterers 
Watchmakers 
Waiters 


Of  course  it  should  be  made  clear  to  the  students  that  this  information  is 
strictly  confidential  and  will  not  be  used  in  any  personal  connection  whatsoever. 
It  would  be  well  at  the  outset  to  state  to  them  the  purpose  of  the  investigation 
and  the  necessity  of  having  accurate  information.  Their  co-operation  is 
necessary  in  securing  it. 

In  order  to  clarify  any  misunderstanding  concerning  the  meanings  of  the 
questions,  the  card  for  a  hypothetical  case  is  filled  out  and  accompanies  this 
explanation. 

Be  sure  to  allow  the  students  sufficient  tune  to  answer  every  question  with 
care,  even  though  it  may  be  necessary  in  some  cases  to  permit  them  to  take 
the  card  home  to  consult  the  parents. 

Each  card  should  be  examined  after  the  student  has  filled  it  out  in  order 
to  correct  any  obvious  errors  and  to  see  that  all  questions  are  answered.  Your 
help  in  this  way  will  be  greatly  appreciated. 

There  were,  however,  some  exceptions  to  the  plan  of  procedure 
just  outlined.  The  cards  used  in  Seattle  and  St.  Louis  did  not  include 


SOURCE  AND  COLLECTION  OF  THE  DATA  9 

the  questions  concerning  the  language  spoken  in  the  home  and  the 
country  of  the  parent's  birth.  But  they  did  include  questions  re- 
lating to  student  self-support  which  were  discarded  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  investigation.  Also  the  inquiry  about  the  telephone  hi  the  home 
was  made  only  in  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon.  In  Seattle  and  St. 
Louis  the  father's  occupation  three  years  ago  was  requested  for  the 
purpose  of  determining  the  extent  of  occupational  change  during  high- 
school  attendance.  In  one  of  the  Seattle  high  schools  (the  first  in  which 
the  study  was  attempted)  an  effort  was  made  to  get  definite  information 
as  to  the  father's  income,  but  without  success.  The  question  was 
entirely  too  personal  and  was  consequently  dropped  from  the  card  lest 
it  imperil  the  accuracy  of  the  returns  to  the  other  questions.  Also  in 
the  first  Seattle  high  school  the  questions  about  brothers  and  sisters  did 
not  appear  on  the  card,  with  the  result  that  the  returns  on  this  item  are 
not  complete  for  the  city  of  Seattle.  In  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon 
children  did  fill  in  the  blank  for  the  name,  and  there  seemed  to  be  no 
objection  to  it.  In  St.  Louis  and  in  four  of  the  six  Seattle  schools  this 
was  not  required  of  the  students.  In  Mt.  Vernon  the  set  of  instructions 
did  not  accompany  the  cards  to  the  teachers.  In  view  of  the  size  of  the 
school  and  the  consequent  greater  intimacy  of  contact  between  the 
supervisory  staff  and  the  teacher,  it  was  thought  sufficient  to  send  to 
each  teacher  merely  the  card  filled  out  for  a  hypothetical  case.  In 
concluding  this  enumeration  of  the  exceptions  to  the  general  method  of 
procedure,  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  cards  used  in  the  evening 
high  school,  the  trade  school,  and  the  compulsory  continuation  classes 
in  Bridgeport  and  the  Mt.  Vernon  sixth  grade  were  modified  in  each 
instance  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  situation. 

The  facts  for  the  children  of  high-school  age  at  work  in  Seattle  were 
obtained  through  personal  interviews  by  investigators  who  went  into 
all  the  commercial  and  industrial  establishments  of  the  city  in  which  it 
was  known  that  such  children  were  at  work.  This  was  done  through  the 
co-operation  of  the  Seattle  Chamber  of  Commerce.  For  the  most  part 
the  investigators  were  teachers  in  the  public  schools  of  the  city. 

In  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon  the  sociological  data  were  supple- 
mented by  intelligence  test  records.  In  the  former  city  the  Chapman- 
Welles  Junior-  and  Senior-High  School  Classification  Test  was  given  to 
the  four  groups  of  children  already  mentioned.  To  the  compulsory 
continuation  classes  and  the  children  in  the  trade  school,  the  test  was 
given  by  the  writer,  while  the  giving  of  the  tests  in  the  day  and  evening 
high  schools  was  under  the  direction  of  high-school  supervisors  and 


IO 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


teachers  who  were  more  or  less  experienced  in  giving  tests.  In  Mt. 
Vernon  the  National  Intelligence  Tests,  Scale  B,  Form  I,  were  given  by 
persons  within  the  system. 

The  data  for  the  study  were  collected  during  the  years  1919,  1920, 
and  1921.  The  cards  were  filled  out  in  the  Seattle  high  schools  at 
intervals  during  the  months  of  November  and  December  of  1919,  and 
January  of  1920.  The  children  of  high-school  age  at  work  in  that  city 
were  interviewed  during  the  Christmas  vacation  of  the  school  year 
1919-20.  The  data  from  St.  Louis  were  secured  in  December,  1920. 
In  Bridgeport  the  cards  for  both  the  day  and  evening  high  schools  and 
the  continuation  classes  were  filled  out  in  December,  1920,  and  those  for 
the  trade  school  in  February,  1921.  The  intelligence  tests  were  given 
there  in  December,  1920,  and  in  January,  February,  and  March,  1921. 
In  Mt.  Vernon  the  tests  were  administered  in  October,  1920,  and  the 
cards  were  filled  out  the  following  May  (1921). 

NUMBER   OF   CASES   STUDIED 

In  getting  the  returns  from  the  high  schools  an  effort  was  made  to 
obtain  responses  from  all  children  in  attendance  on  that  day.  The 
number  filling  out  the  cards  in  each  city  is  indicated  in  Table  I.  Thus 
for  this  basic  part  of  the  study  there  are  17,992  cases.  Of  the  8,264 
cases  reported  for  the  St.  Louis  high  schools,  727,  constituting  the  entire 
enrolment  of  one  of  the  schools,  are  negroes.  This  very  interesting 
group  will  receive  special  attention  in  a  separate  chapter. 

TABLE  I 

NUMBER  AND  SEX  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS  FILLING  OUT  THE  INFORMATION  CARD 
IN  EACH  OF  THE  CITIES 


CITY 

NUMBER  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS 

Girls 

Boys 

Total 

Bridgeport  

1,220 
Si6 
4,462 
3,572 

1,037 
568 
3,802 
2,815 

2,257 
1,084 
8,264 
6,387 

Mt.  Vernon    

St.  Louis            

Seattle  

Total  

9,770 

8,222 

17,992 

The  number  of  children  in  the  special  groups  outside  the  regular 
day  high  school  from  whom  information  of  a  similar  character  was 
received  is  shown  in  Table  II.  No  one  of  these  groups  is  very  large. 
Neither  is  any  claim  of  complete  returns  made  except  for  the  trade 


SOURCE  AND  COLLECTION  OF  THE  DATA 


II 


school  and  the  Mt.  Vernon  sixth  grade.  In  the  other  three  cases  the 
most  that  can  be  claimed  is  that  random  samplings  have  been  secured. 
The  number  of  children  of  high-school  age  at  work  in  Seattle  was  certainly 

TABLE  II 
NUMBER  AND  SEX  OF  CHILDREN  FILLING  Our  THE  INFORMATION  CARD  IN  EACH  OF 

THE  NON-HlGH-SCHOOL  GROUPS 


Nt 

MBER  of  CHILDS 

_EN 

Girls 

Boys 

Total 

Children  of  high-school  age  at  work  in 
Seattle  

249 

265 

514 

Bridgeport  Evening  High  School  

147 

96 

243 

State  Trade  School  at  Bridgeport  

14 

184 

198 

Bridgeport      Compulsory      Continuation 
Classes  

^o? 

274 

579 

Mt.  Vernon  Sixth  Grade  

341 

398 

739 

Total.  .  . 

i.o?6 

1.  217 

2.273 

much  greater  than  514.  In  the  Bridgeport  Evening  High  School  there 
were  approximately  one  thousand  students.  Many  of  them  were  far 
beyond  the  high-school  age.  But  only  students  twenty-one  years  of 
age  or  less  were  included  in  this  study.  Likewise  returns  were  secured 
from  only  about  50  per  cent  of  the  children  in  the  compulsory  continu- 
ation classes.  In  each  instance,  however,  those  studied  are  thought  to 
be  quite  representative  of  the  group. 

TABLE  III 

NUMBER  AND  DISTRIBUTION  OF  CHILDREN  TAKING  THE  INTELLIGENCE  TESTS 


UROUP 

Girls 

Boys 

Total 

Bridgeport  High  School  

1  ,  362 

1  ,  169 

2,  5^1 

Bridgeport  Evening  High  School  

86 

QC 

181 

State  Trade  School  at  Bridgeport  

Q 

164 

173 

Bridgeport      Compulsory      Continuation 
Classes  

2  2O 

2OI 

421 

Mt.  Vernon  High  School  

102 

216 

408 

Total  

1,869 

1,845 

3,714 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 


The  groups  to  which  the  intelligence  tests  were  administered  were 
not  completely  identical  with  those  for  which  the  sociological  data  were 


12  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

secured,  because  some  days  or  weeks  or  even  months  elapsed  in  each 
case  between  filling  out  the  cards  and  taking  the  test,  or  vice  versa. 
The  number  taking  the  test  in  each  group  is  shown  in  Table  III.  It  will 
be  noted  that  in  some  cases  the  number  taking  the  test  is  larger  than 
the  number  filling  out  the  cards,  and  in  other  cases  the  reverse  is  true. 
However,  this  is  a  matter  of  no  importance  when  group  results  alone 
are  wanted. 

ACCURACY 

The  accuracy  of  the  data  is  of  course  a  matter  of  fundamental 
importance.  Are  the  returns  accurate  or  at  least  of  such  a  character 
as  to  guarantee  reliable  conclusions  ?  Let  us  first  consider  the  socio- 
logical data. 

The  first  question  here  pertains  to  the  character  of  the  informa- 
tion requested  and  the  wording  on  the  card.  Is  the  high-school  student 
in  possession  of  the  information  asked  for?  He  undoubtedly  is,  with 
the  possible  exception  of  the  information  relating  to  the  father's  owner- 
ship of  the  business  in  which  he  works.  And  even  here,  the  responses 
to  the  other  questions  about  the  father's  occupation  make  it  possible  in 
most  cases  to  arrive  at  a  reasonably  satisfactory  single  result.  Are  the 
questions  definite  and  do  they  call  for  specific  information?  Here 
again  the  answer  is  in  the  affirmative.  Is  there  good  reason  for  suspect- 
ing that  the  high-school  student  might  color  his  replies  to  some  of  the 
questions  ?  Probably  in  some  cases  there  would  be  a  temptation  to  put 
a  more  favorable  construction  on  the  father's  occupation  than  the  facts 
would  warrant.  This  temptation,  however,  was  largely  removed  in  St. 
Louis  and  in  the  four  Seattle  high  schools  where  the  student's  name  was 
not  called  for.  Thus  the  returns  from  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon  may 
be  checked  against  those  from  the  other  two  cities.  It  is  also  highly 
probable  that  the  average  high-school  student  is  over-optimistic  about 
his  prospects.  Consequently  little  weight  should  be  attached  to  his 
stated  intentions  following  graduation  from  high  school,  as  an  index  of 
what  he  really  is  going  to  do.  But,  even  so,  as  a  statement  of  his 
intention,  as  an  idea  that  occurred  to  him  for  a  reason,  it  does  in  the 
writer's  opinion  have  some  validity.  And  no  other  claim  for  accuracy 
will  be  made  regarding  it  during  the  course  of  the  study.  Did  the 
students  make  a  serious  effort  to  fill  out  the  cards  and  furnish  the 
desired  information  ?  They  evidently  did  in  the  great  majority  of  cases. 
It  is  true  that  in  almost  every  high  school  one  or  two  boys  took  the 
whole  matter  as  a  great  joke  and  taxed  their  ingenuity  to  the  limit  to 
give  the  least  possible  bit  of  valuable  information  and  the  largest  possible 


SOURCE  AND  COLLECTION  OF  THE  DATA         13 

amount  of  nonsense.  But,  on  the  whole,  the  replies  showed  careful 
attention  to  the  work  in  hand  and  a  serious  effort  to  co-operate  in 
providing  the  information. 

A  second  general  question  pertains  to  the  collection  of  the  data. 
Is  there  any  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  returns  are  from  a 
selected  group  ?  On  the  whole  the  answer  is  a  negative  one.  In  each 
high  school,  with  the  exception  of  the  Soldan  High  School  of  St.  Louis, 
the  day  on  which  the  census  was  taken  was  a  normal  day  and  the  cards 
were  received  from  practically  all  the  students  in  attendance.  At  the 
Soldan  the  cards  were  filled  out  the  day  before  the  Christmas  vacation 
and  there  were  many  absent,  particularly  among  the  Seniors.  Subse- 
quently an  effort  was  made  to  complete  the  census,  but  evidently  there 
was  a  considerable  number  of  students  in  this  high  school  from  whom  no 
cards  were  received.  And  it  happens  that  incompleteness  at  this  point 
has  probably  colored  the  returns  from  St.  Louis  to  a  small  degree, 
because  the  Soldan  High  School  serves  a  rather  homogeneous  and  select 
middle-class  constituency.  It  should  therefore  be  remembered,  when 
we  note  the  social  composition  of  the  high-school  population  of  St.  Louis, 
that  our  figures  do  not  give  the  non-labor  groups  as  large  a  representation 
as  they  probably  have.  In  collecting  data  from  the  non-high-school 
children  there  is  no  good  reason  for  suspecting  bias.  For  obvious 
reasons,  in  the  case  of  the  evening  high  school  in  Bridgeport,  the  study 
was  limited  to  students  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  and  under.  Except  in 
those  cases  where  it  is  expressly  stated  to  the  contrary,  the  returns 
apparently  are  complete  and  unselected. 


CHAPTER  III 
CHARACTER  OF  THE  CITIES  CHOSEN  FOR  THE  STUDY 

Before  going  into  an  analysis  of  the  results  of  the  investigation,  it 
will  be  well  to  examine  briefly  into  the  character  of  the  cities  from  which 
the  data  were  secured.  This  is  a  matter  of  prime  importance  in  a  study 
such  as  this  one,  in  which  the  sociological  interest  is  prominent. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  the  study  was  not  undertaken  in 
these  cities  primarily  because  of  their  representative  character.  They 
were  studied  because  they  presented  the  opportunity.  They  were  studied 
because  it  was  possible  to  study  them.  Nevertheless  an  examination 
of  the  facts  will  show  them  to  be  fairly  representative  of  the  country. 

GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  HISTORICAL 

In  Seattle  we  have  a  city  of  the  Pacific  Coast,  representative  of  the 
North  and  the  far  West.  St.  Louis  lies  between  the  North  and  the  South, 
and  between  the  East  and  the  West,  exhibiting  in  some  measure  the 
characteristics  of  all.  Bridgeport,  an  Atlantic  seaport  and  industrial 
center,  and  Mt.  Vernon,  a  growing  community  just  outside  the  city  of 
New  York,  stand  for  the  East.  To  be  sure,  the  real  South  is  not  ade- 
quately represented;  neither  is  the  Great  Lakes  region;  nor  the  plains 
states.  Furthermore,  Boston  and  New  England  might  not  be  satisfied 
with  Bridgeport.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  these  four  cities  do 
represent  different  parts  of  our  country. 

No  one  of  our  cities  can  trace  its  history  back  to  1607  or  1620,  although 
the  city  of  Bridgeport  does  claim  that  there  was  a  settlement  of  white 
people  made  in  territory  constituting  the  site  of  modern  Bridgeport  as 
early  as  1639.  It  was  not,  however,  until  1836  that  the  city  was  incorpo- 
rated. St.  Louis  is  one  of  the  oldest  cities  west  of  the  Alleghanies, 
reaching  back  to  the  days  of  Marquette  and  Joliet  and  La  Salle.  It  was 
incorporated  as  a  city  in  1822,  and  thus  holds  the  distinction  of  having 
been  the  first  city  incorporated  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Naturally  the 
rise  of  Seattle  came  later  as  a  part  of  the  development  of  the  Oregon 
country.  Yet  its  date  of  incorporation  goes  back  to  1869.  Mt.  Vernon, 
though  possessing  a  considerable  history  as  a  town,  did  not  become  a 
city  until  1892. 

14 


CHARACTER  OF  CITIES  CHOSEN  FOR  STUDY 


An  examination  of  Table  IV  is  of  interest  at  this  point.  It  shows  the 
increase  of  population  in  each  of  the  four  cities  from  1870  to  1920. 
The  facts  here  presented  reveal  important  and  significant  differences 
among  the  cities.  Clearly  they  are  not  all  of  the  same  type.  Fifty 
years  ago  St.  Louis  was  a  great  urban  center  of  more  than  300,000 
inhabitants.  Seattle,  on  the  other  hand,  a  city  that  likes  to  call  itself 

TABLE  IV 
INCREASE  OF  POPULATION  IN  EACH  OF  THE  FOUR  CITIES  FROM  1870  TO  1920 


Year 

Bridgeport 

Mt.  Vernon 

St.  Louis 

Seattle 

1870.  . 

18.060 

2.7OO 

310.864 

I  .  IO7 

1880  

27,64.3 

4.  586 

3SO.  1l8 

3     «J7 

1800.  . 

48,866 

IO.8?O 

4^1  .770 

42    837 

IOOO.  . 

70,006 

21,228 

17?,  2^8 

80,671 

IOIO.  . 

,      IO2.CK4 

3O,QIQ 

687,020 

237,  104 

IO2O.  . 

147.  ccc 

42,726 

772,807 

31^,312 

the  New  York  of  the  Pacific  today,  was  at  that  time  nothing  but  an 
assemblage  of  shacks  about  a  trading  post,  housing  scarcely  more  than 
a  thousand  souls.  St.  Louis  has  been  growing  gradually  during  this 
period,  but  not  so  rapidly  as  most  American  cities,  while  the  growth  of 
Seattle,  especially  during  the  decade  from  1900  to  1910,  has  been  nothing 
short  of  phenomenal.  In  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon  we  have  two 
cities  exhibiting  the  steady  and  rapid  growth  characteristic  of  industrial 
centers  developing  in  the  well-populated  sections  of  our  country  during 
the  last  half-century.  They  are  intermediate  between  Seattle  and 
St.  Louis. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  study  it  is  fortunate  that  we  have  cities 
showing  these  different  rates  of  growth.  In  Seattle  we  find  a  vigorous, 
adventurous,  and  youthful  population,  composed  of  elements  lured  to 
this  metropolis  of  the  Northwest  from  the  states  to  the  east,  and  among 
whom  the  native  son  is  rare  indeed.  Here  society  is  less  stable;  the 
lines  between  social  classes  are  not  rigidly  drawn.  Everybody  works. 
Seattle  is  not  a  city  of  magnificent  residences.  In  St.  Louis,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  have  an  altogether  different  situation.  The  city  is  old,  in 
American  and  middle  western  terms,  and  the  population  has  not  increased 
rapidly  during  the  last  generation.  Society  is  more  stable.  The  lines 
between  classes  are  more  closely  drawn,  although  the  people  are  less 
aware  of  those  lines  in  St.  Louis  than  in  Seattle.  Habit  and  custom 
have  assumed  their  expected  r61e.  The  old  families  do  exist  and  St.  Louis 


i6 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


does  have  its  magnificent  residences.  It  is  a  place  in  which  to  live  as 
well  as  to  work.  These  differences  are  of  the  largest  significance  for  the 
study. 

THE  PEOPLE 

A  study  of  the  people  inhabiting  these  four  cities  shows  us  a  popula- 
tion almost  as  varied  and  complex  as  that  of  the  nation  itself.  In  Table 
V  are  the  facts  pertaining  to  race  and  nationality  as  given  in  the  latest 

TABLE  V 

RACIAL  AND  ETHNIC  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  POPULATIONS  OF  THE  FOUR  CITIES 
ACCORDING  TO  THE  CENSUS  OF  1910 


RACE  OR  NATIONALITY 

BRIDGEPORT 

MT.  VERNON 

ST.  Louis 

SEATTLE 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Native      white       (native 
parentage)  

27,156 

37,314 
36,180 
1,332 

72 

26.6 

36.6 
35-5 

1.2 

.1 

n,433 

10,539 
8,029 
896 

22 

37-0 

34-0 
26.0 
2.9 

.1 

269,836 

246,946 
125,706 
43,96o 

58i 

39-2 

35-9 
18.4 
6-4 

.1 

105,784 

61,134 
60,835 
2,296 

7,145 

44.6 

25.8 
25.6 

I.O 

3-0 

Native  white  (foreign  and 
mixed  parentage)  

Foreign-born  white  

Negro  

Indians,  Chinese,  Japanese, 
etc  

Total  

102,054 

IOO.O 

30,919 

IOO.O 

687,029 

IOO.O 

237,194 

IOO.O 

available  census,  that  of  1910.  A  glance  at  this  table  is  illuminating. 
Bridgeport  is  one  of  the  most  foreign  of  American  cities  with  only  26.6 
per  cent  of  its  inhabitants  reported  as  native  white  of  native  parentage. 
Practically  the  entire  remainder  is  either  foreign  born  or  of  foreign  and 
mixed  parentage,  since  the  colored  races  have  but  a  negligible  representa- 
tion. At  the  other  extreme  is  Seattle  which  is  one  of  the  least  foreign 
of  our  cities  with  44.6  per  cent  of  its  inhabitants  of  native  white  parentage. 
In  St.  Louis  is  found  a  different  situation.  The  native  white  stock  is 
well  represented,  as  is  also  the  native  white  of  foreign  and  mixed  parent- 
age; whereas  the  proportion  of  foreign-born  white  is  the  lowest  for  the 
four  cities,  and  is  decidedly  low  for  the  larger  American  cities.  Mt. 
Vernon  presents  no  distinctive  features.  Finally  it  should  be  noted 
that  St.  Louis  has  a  good  representation  of  negroes,  while  the  Orientals, 
particularly  the  Chinese  and  the  Japanese,  constitute  an  important 
element  in  the  population  of  Seattle. 

But  how  are  the  different  immigrant  strains  represented  ?  Do  we 
find  both  the  "old"  and  the  "new"  immigration?  In  Table  VI  is  the 
answer.  Here  the  immigrants  and  native  whites  of  foreign  parentage 
are  grouped  according  to  the  country  from  which  they  or  both  their 


CHARACTER  OF  CITIES  CHOSEN  FOR  STUDY 


parents  have  come.  Again  each  of  the  cities  presents  individual  features. 
In  Bridgeport  the  most  numerous  immigrant  group  comes  from  that 
polyglot  section  of  Europe  formerly  known  as  the  Austro-Hungarian 
Empire;  in  Mt.  Vernon  the  Italians  hold  first  place;  in  St.  Louis  almost 
one-half  of  the  immigrants  are  of  German  stock;  while  in  Seattle  the 
immigrants  from  the  Scandinavian  countries  constitute  the  largest 
single  group,  as  classified.  In  so  far  as  the  immigrant  population  is 

TABLE  VI 

NATIVITY  OF  FOREIGN-BORN  WHITES  AND  PARENTS  OF  NATIVE  WHITES  OF  FOREIGN 
PARENTAGE  IN  THE  FOUR  CITIES  (1910) 


COUNTRY 

BRIDGEPORT 

MT.  VERNON 

ST.  Louis 

SEATTLE 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Austria-Hungary  

16,883 
2,002 
6,383 
6,136 
13,070 
7,420 
6,242 
3,725 
3,437 

25-8 
3-i 
9-8 
9-4 
20.  o 
fI.J 
9-6 
5-7 
5-3 

426 
345 
1,367 
3,924 
2,403 
4,371 
933 
537 

1,112 

2.8 
2.2 

8.9 

25.5 
15.6 
28.3 

6.0 

3-5 

7-2 

28,377 
3,138 
11,270 
138,094 
41,326 
11,360 
23,868 
2,926 
28,350 

9.8 
i.z 
3-9 
47-9 
14-3 

I'9 
8-3 

I.O 

9-8 

2,001 

I4,3i7 
13,025 
13,898 
7,294 
4,399 
3,513 
28,353 
12,209 

2-9 

14-3 
13-0 
13-9 
7-3 
4-4 
3-S 
28.5 

12.2 

Canada  

Great  Britain  

Germany  

Ireland  

Italy  

Russia  

Scandinavia  

All  others  

Total  

65,298 

IOO.O 

I5,4l8 

IOO.O 

288,709 

IOO.O 

99,909 

IOO.O 

concerned,  Seattle  represents  the  "old"  immigration,  the  immigration 
from  the  north  and  west  of  Europe,  with  only  10.8  per  cent  from  Austria- 
Hungary,  Italy,  and  Russia.  In  St.  Louis,  which  is  also  predominantly 
a  center  for  the  "old"  immigration,  22  per  cent  of  its  immigrants  are 
from  these  three  countries  of  the  south  and  east  of  Europe.  In  Mt. 
Vemon  this  percentage  rises  to  37.1;  and  in  Bridgeport  to  46.7.  Thus 
it  is  clear  that  from  the  standpoint  of  race  and  nationality  these  four 
cities  give  a  fairly  complete  picture  of  urban  America. 

OCCUPATIONS 

For  the  purposes  of  this  study  perhaps  the  most  important  informa- 
tion about  the  population  pertains  to  the  occupations.  In  what  occupa- 
tions are  the  people  of  these  four  cities  engaged?  The  facts  on  this 
point,  according  to  the  census  of  1910,  are  found  in  Table  VII.  An 
examination  of  this  table  shows  the  variety  of  occupational  interest 
characteristic  of  American  cities.  Of  the  nine  great  occupational 
divisions  recognized  by  the  census  the  seven  which  might  be  expected 
in  urban  communities  are  proportionately  represented  in  these  four 


i8 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


cities.  To  be  sure,  the  percentage  of  persons  engaged  in  public  service, 
according  to  the  census  classification,  is  quite  small  in  each  case,  but  this 
is  characteristic  of  cities  generally.  Although  American  cities  are  as  a 
rule  predominantly  industrial,  and  although  the  cities  here  studied  are 
no  exceptions  to  this  rule,  yet  the  table  shows  marked  differences  among 
them  in  the  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  engaged  in  the  manufacturing 
and  mechanical  occupations.  At  the  one  extreme  is  Bridgeport  with  over 
60  per  cent  of  its  people  so  engaged,  and  at  the  other  is  Seattle  with 
scarcely  more  than  30  per  cent.  St.  Louis  occupies  a  middle  ground. 

TABLE  VII 

TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  PERSONS  TEN  YEARS  OF  AGE  OR  OVER  ENGAGED  IN  EACH 
SPECIFIED  OCCUPATION  IN  EACH  OF  THE  FOUR  CITIES  (1910) 


OCCUPATIONAL  DIVISION 

BRIDGEPORT 

MT.  VERNON 

ST.  Louis 

SEATTLE 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Number 

Per- 
centage 

Agriculture,  forestry,  and 
animal  husbandry  
Extracting  of  minerals  — 
Manufacturing    and    me- 

477 
26 

30,696 
2,788 
5,053 
681 
2,259 

4,531 
3,407 

I.O 

.1 

61.4 
5-6 

IO.I 

1.4 
4-5 

9.1 
6.8 

1  20 

20 

4,147 
939 
3,330 
169 
1,173 

2,107 
1,347 

I.O 
.2 

33-6 
7.6 
18.9 
1-3 
9-5 

17.0 
10.9 

2,203 
1,621 

133,151 
28,079 
54,  "7 
5,858 
15,952 

46,288 
33,445 

.7 
•  5 

41-5 
8.7 
16.9 
1.8 
5-0 

14-5 
10.4 

4,460 
1,915 

39,639 
17,116 
20,266 
2,585 
8,762 

17,289 
10,253 

3-6 
1.6 

32.4 
14.0 
16.6 

2.1 

7.2 

I4.I 

8.4 

Transportation  

Trade  

Public  service    

Professional  service  

Domestic     and     personal 

Clerical  occupations  
Total  

49,918 

100.  0 

12,352 

100.  0 

320,714 

1  00.0 

122,285 

100.  0 

The  range  here  presented  is  almost  as  great  as  that  to  be  found  among 
the-  larger  American  cities.  Bridgeport  is  an  industrial  center  of  the 
clearest  type,  while  Seattle  is  a  community  with  a  greater  variety  of 
interests,  in  which  industrial  development  is  in  its  earlier  stages.  In 
the  latter  city  there  are  almost  as  many  persons  engaged  in  trade  and 
transportation  as  in  industry.  This  is  to  be  expected  in  a  great  seaport 
in  which  the  commercial  interest  is  naturally  very  large.  The  table 
shows  important  differences  in  the  proportion  of  the  populations  engaged 
in  the  other  occupations,  but  enough  has  been  said  to  make  it  clear  that 
these  four  cities  are  fairly  representative  of  American  cities  with  respect 
to  occupational  interests. 

A  slight  additional  comment  of  a  more  specific  nature  concerning  the 
character  of  the  industrial  undertakings  in  each  of  the  four  cities  will 
be  of  value,  because  of  the  dominant  role  played  by  industry  in  the 
American  city.  To  an  appreciable  degree  industry  gives  the  city  its  tone. 


CHARACTER  OF  CITIES  CHOSEN  FOR  STUDY  19 

Almost  every  conceivable  thing  is  manufactured  in  Bridgeport 
from  collar  buttons  to  field  artillery.  Its  most  important  products  are 
corsets;  foundry  and  machine-shop  products;  electrical  machinery  and 
supplies  of  all  sorts;  cutlery  and  tools;  and  copper,  tin,  and  sheet-iron 
products.  In  addition,  the  people  of  Bridgeport  make  automobiles, 
carriages,  cigars,  bicycles,  boots  and  shoes,  carpets,  firearms,  paint, 
patent  medicines,  hosiery,  sewing  machines,  silverware,  typewriters,  and 
a  host  of  other  things.  Mt.  Vernon  is  largely  a  place  of  residence  for 
persons  working  in  New  York  City.  Yet  there  are  several  concerns 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  motor  vehicles,  optical  instruments, 
silver  products,  shirt  waists,  etc.  St.  Louis  manufactures  a  great 
variety  of  goods.  The  products  in  whose  manufacture  the  largest 
numbers  of  workers  are  engaged  are  boots  and  shoes;  printing  and 
publishing;  men's  and  women's  clothing;  foundry  and  machine-shop 
products;  furniture;  lumber  and  timber  products;  carriages  and  wagons; 
pottery  and  terra  cotta;  stoves  and  furnaces;  copper,  tin,  and  sheet-iron 
products;  and  in  a  happier  day  great  quantities  of  liquors  and  stimulating 
beverages.  Seattle,  though  less  given  to  manufacture,  does  produce 
many  things.  Quite  naturally  first  among  them  are  lumber  and  timber 
products.  Others  are  foundry  and  machine-shop  products;  confection- 
ery; copper,  tin,  and  sheet- iron  products;  flour  and  grist-mill  products; 
and  furniture.  There  are  also  a  goodly  number  of  persons  engaged  in 
printing  and  publishing;  the  slaughtering  and  meat-packing  industries 
are  developing;  and  during  the  war  Seattle  developed  into  a  great 
shipbuilding  center. 

VALUE   OF  PROPERTY 

No  picture  of  a  city  is  complete  without  some  reference  to  the 
value  of  its  property.  This  is  especially  true  in  any  study  of  public 
education,  an  enterprise  dependent  on  taxation  for  support. 

According  to  a  special  report  of  the  census  in  1919  the  estimated 
true  value  of  property  per  capita  in  St.  Louis  was  $1,497.85,  while  the 
average  for  the  group  of  American  cities  having  over  500,000  inhabitants, 
the  group  to  which  St.  Louis  belongs,  was  $1,584.51.  The  corresponding 
figures  for  Seattle  were  $1,630.88  and  $1,617.88;  for  Bridgeport, 
$1,592.05  and  $1,353.25;  and  for  Mt.  Vernon,  $1,286.28  and  $1,234.30. 
According  to  these  estimates,  no  one  of  the  four  cities  represents  either 
of  the  extremes  of  wealth  or  of  poverty.  With  the  exception  of  St. 
Louis,  they  are  slightly  above  the  average  for  cities  of  their  class,  but 
the  superiority  is  not  marked  in  any  case.  All  appear  to  be  cities  of 
moderate  wealth. 


20 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  CHILDREN  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE 

A  final  question  and  one  most  significant  for  this  study  pertains  to 
the  high  school  itself  in  these  four  cities.  What  proportion  of  the 
children  of  high-school  age  (taken  somewhat  arbitrarily  in  this  study  to 
include  all  children  from  fourteen  to  seventeen  years  of  age)  are  enrolled 
in  the  high  school?  The  facts  bearing  on  this  point  appear  in  Table 
VIII  in  which  is  given  the  estimated  number  of  children  of  high-school 

TABLE  VIII 

NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE,  NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN  IN  THE  PUBLIC 
HIGH  SCHOOLS,  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE  IN  THE 
PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOLS  IN  EACH  OF  THE  FOUR  CITIES  AND  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
IN  1918 


Bridgeport 

Mt.  Vernon 

St.  Louis 

Seattle 

United  States 

Children  of  high-school  age. 
Children    in    public    high 
schools  

10,618 
I  ,99O 

3,169 
I  ,OIO 

59,324 
10,586 

23,368 
6,719 

8,053,872 
1,645,171    ' 

Percentage   of   children   in 
public  high  schools  

18.7 

31  .0 

17.8 

28.8 

20.4 

age  in  each  of  the  cities  and  in  the  nation  in  1918,  the  number  of  children 
enrolled  in  the  public  high  schools  according  to  the  report  of  the  Bureau 
of  Education  for  the  school  year  1917-18,  and  the  percentage  that  the 
latter  is  of  the  former.  No  claim  is  made  of  absolute  accuracy  for  these 
figures,  but  they  are  unquestionably  approximately  correct. 

The  table  shows  that  two  of  the  cities  (Bridgeport  and  St.  Louis) 
have  a  somewhat  smaller  proportion  of  their  children  of  high-school  age 
in  the  public  high  school  than  the  country  as  a  whole;  whereas,  the 
other  two  (Mt.  Vernon  and  Seattle)  are  markedly  above  the  average 
practice  for  the  nation.  Seattle's  record  is  particularly  noteworthy  in 
a  city  of  more  than  300,000  inhabitants.  In  fact  there  are  few  cities 
as  large  as  Seattle  having  so  large  a  proportion  of  their  children  of  high- 
school  age  in  high  school.  This  diversity  of  practice  in  a  matter  which 
lies  at  the  heart  of  this  study  is  of  large  value  and  reference  to  this 
table  will  be  made  in  later  chapters  in  connection  with  the  analysis  and 
interpretation  of  the  results  of  the  investigation. 


PART  II.    ANALYSIS  OF  THE  DATA 

CHAPTER  IV 
PARENTAL  OCCUPATION— CLASSIFICATION 

Occupation  is  the  central  fact  in  the  lives  of  the  great  masses  of 
people.  It  is  the  interest  that  occupies  the  time  and  energy  of  the 
ordinary  person  for  the  major  part  of  his  waking  hours.  In  large 
measure  it  determines  his  place  of  residence,  his  associates  during  the 
working-day,  and  his  more  intimate  acquaintances  and  friends  of  the 
leisure  moments.  If  pursued  for  years,  it  will  set  its  mark  on  his  physical 
nature  and  will  stamp  his  mind  with  its  special  pattern.  It  will  deter- 
mine to  a  considerable  degree  what  he  does,  what  he  thinks,  and  his 
outlook  on  life.  Increasingly,  it  seems,  a  man's  occupation  in  this 
complex  world  determines  his  political  affiliations.  Consequently  this 
part  of  the  study,  setting  forth  the  relation  of  parental  occupation  to 
high-school  attendance,  may  be  regarded  as  its  most  important  contri- 
bution. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  OCCUPATION 

The  first  task  encountered  as  soon  as  the  tabulation  of  the  data 
commenced  was  a  classification  of  occupations  significant  for  the  purposes 
of  the  study.  The  classification  used  by  the  census,  recognizing  nine 
great  occupational  divisions,  was  inadequate,  since  it  fails  to  distinguish 
the  various  grades  of  occupations  within  an  industry,  due  to  large-scale 
production  and  specialization  of  function.  For  example,  the  division 
of  "manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries"  includes  in  one  group 
those  who  own  the  industries,  those  who  manage  them,  those  engaged 
as  technicians,  and  those  who  perform  the  manual  labor  involving  varying 
degrees  of  skill.  All  persons  concerned  with  the  production  of  a  par- 
ticular commodity  are  grouped  together.  For  the  purposes  of  the  census 
this  classification  is  undoubtedly  satisfactory,  but  for  the  purposes  of 
this  study  it  is  as  clearly  unsatisfactory. 

The  ideal  classification  would  be  Taussig's  famous  classification  into 
the  five  non-competing  groups,  viz.,  professional,  semi-professional, 
skilled,  semi-skilled,  and  unskilled  occupations.  And  at  the  outset  of 
the  investigation  this  classification  was  chosen,  but  as  the  work  pro- 
ceeded it  was  abandoned.  The  reasons  for  this  were  several.  As  already 


22  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

indicated  this  classification  is  ideal,  but  it  was  found  exceedingly  difficult 
to  use.  The  lines  between  the  groups  are  not  clearly  denned  in  industry, 
to  say  the  least.  The  division  between  the  skilled  and  the  unskilled  is 
certainly  no  longer  altogether  clear.  However,  with  relatively  complete 
information  for  each  case,  this  classification  could  be  attempted  with  some 
measure  of  success;  but  with  the  relatively  meager  information  obtained 
in  this  study,  it  was  found  unworkable  without  resorting  to  many 
arbitrary  decisions.  It  was  therefore  decided  to  abandon  the  attempt 
at  the  ideal  and  adopt  a  classification  that  would  not  give  the  impression 
of  greater  accuracy  than  the  facts  would  warrant. 

The  classification  finally  adopted  takes  the  census  classification  as 
a  basis,  but  goes  considerably  further  by  breaking  up  the  more  complex 
groups  and  recognizing  certain  other  groups  running  directly  across  the 
great  occupational  divisions  of  the  census.  The  aim  is  to  get  classes 
of  reasonable  homogeneity  from  the  standpoint  of  social  status,  position 
in  the  economic  order,  and  intellectual  outlook.  The  result  is  not 
altogether  satisfactory,  and  it  is  far  from  the  ideal,  but  facts  to  be 
presented  later  show  the  classification  to  possess  some  merit.  The 
groups  recognized  are  as  follows: 

I.  Proprietors. — Bankers,  brokers,  druggists,  hotel-owners,  landlords, 
laundry-owners,  lumbermen,  manufacturers,  merchants,  mine- 
owners,  publishers,  shopkeepers,  undertakers,  etc. 

II.  Professional  service. — Actors,  architects,  artists,  authors,  cartoonists, 
clergymen,  dentists,  engineers  (civil,  chemical,  electrical,  mechanical, 
mining),  journalists,  lawyers,  librarians,  musicians,  pharmacists, 
photographers,  physical  directors,  physicians,  social  workers, 
surgeons,  teachers,  etc. 

III.  Managerial  service. — Agents  (express,  railroad,  steamship,  telegraph), 

contractors,  foremen,  managers,  officials  and  inspectors  (private), 
officials  and  inspectors  (public) ,  superintendents,  etc. 

IV.  Commercial  service. — Agents  (real  estate  and  insurance),  buyers,  clerks 

in  stores,  commercial  travelers,  salesmen,  etc. 

V.  Clerical  service. — Accountants,  bookkeepers,  canvassers,  cashiers,  clerks 
(except  in  stores),  collectors,  etc. 

VI.  Agricultural    service. — Dairymen,    farmers,    fruit-growers,    gardeners, 

nurserymen,  ranchmen,  stock-raisers,  etc. 

VII.  Artisan-proprietors. — All  artisans  who  own  the  shops  in  which  they 
work,  including  bakers,  barbers,  blacksmiths,  cabinet-makers, 
cleaners  and  dyers,  cobblers,  draftsmen,  electricians,  machinists, 
milliners,  plumbers,  printers,  tailors,  tinners,  etc. 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION— CLASSIFICATION  23 

VIII.  Building  and  related  trades. — Cabinet-makers,  carpenters,  electricians, 
glaziers,  lathers,  masons,  plasterers,  plumbers,  sheet-metal  workers, 
structural  iron  workers,  etc. 

LX.  Machine  and  related  trades. — Anglesmiths,  blacksmiths,  coppersmiths, 
designers,  draftsmen,  engineers  (stationary),  firemen  (except  loco- 
motive and  fire  department),  forgemen,  founders,  machinists, 
mechanics,  millwrights,  molders,  pattern-makers,  tinsmiths,  tool- 
makers,  etc. 
X.  Printing  trades. — Bookbinders,  compositors,  electrotypers,  engravers, 

linotypers,  pressmen,  printers,  typesetters,  etc. 

XI.  Miscellaneous  trades  in  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries. — 
Bakers,  bottlers,  brewers,  cigar-makers,  cobblers,  coopers,  corset- 
cutters,  cutlers,  dyers,  glass-blowers,  grinders,  meat-cutters,  milliners, 
platers,  shoe-cutters,  tailors,  tanners,  weavers,  etc.,  and  machine 
operatives. 

XII.  Transportation  service. — Baggagemen,  brakemen,  chauffeurs,  conductors, 
draymen,  engineers  (locomotive  and  marine),  firemen  (locomotive 
and  marine),  longshoremen,  mail  carriers,  mariners,  motormen, 
sailors,  switchmen,  yardmen,  etc. 

XIII.  Public  service. — Detectives,  firemen  (fire  department),  guards,  marines, 

marshals,  policemen,  sailors,  soldiers,  watchmen,  etc. 

XIV.  Personal  service. — Barbers,  chefs,  cooks,  doorkeepers,  janitors,  laun- 

derers,  porters,  sextons,  waiters,  etc. 
XV.  Miners,  lumber-workers,  and  fishermen. 
XVI.  Common  labor. 
XVII.  Occupation  unknown. 

The  first  group,  the  proprietors,  includes  all  the  owners  of  enterprises 
in  whatever  field,  except  the  farmers  and  certain  small  owners  put  into 
Class  VII  among  whom  ownership  is  really  secondary  to  the  practice 
of  some  skilled  trade.  This  group  is  the  most  powerful  occupational 
group  in  any  American  community;  its  members  constitute  the  backbone 
of  the  chambers  of  commerce  and  similar  organizations;  it  occupies  a 
strategic  position  in  a  society  based  on  private  property  and  it  controls 
economic  power.  In  criticism  of  this  classification,  it  may  be  said  that 
there  is  an  exceedingly  wide  range  among  proprietors.  Small  shop- 
keepers are  classed  with  captains  of  industry  and  owners  of  great  wealth. 
There  is  without  question  some  justice  in  this  criticism,  and  in  the  early 
part  of  the  investigation  an  effort  was  made  to  divide  this  group  into 
"large"  and  "small"  proprietors.  But  it  was  necessary  to  abandon 
this  effort  because  of  the  practical  impossibility  of  introducing  this 


24  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

distinction  with  the  available  data.  Nevertheless  ownership  does  give 
a  certain  security  even  though  the  business  is  small.  It  also  gives  an 
outlook  on  life.  While  there  is  superficial  heterogeneity,  there  is 
fundamental  homogeneity  throughout  the  group. 

The  second  group,  professional  service,  requires  little  comment. 
It  is  perhaps  in  all  respects  the  most  homogeneous  group  in  the  classifica- 
tion. Its  membership  is  the  most  "learned"  in  the  community. 

In  the  third  group  are  placed  all  those  persons  except  owners,  who 
perform  any  managerial  or  directing  function  in  all  enterprises,  whether 
of  a  public  or  private  character.  In  the  ordinary  industrial  organiza- 
tion it  includes  everything  from  foreman  up  to  superintendent. 

All  persons  who  are  active  in  the  buying  or  selling  of  goods,  except 
owners,  are  placed  in  the  fourth  group,  commercial  service.  Real 
estate  and  insurance  agents  are  all  included  in  this  class,  even  though 
they  are  said  to  be  owners  or  part  owners  of  the  business,  because  in 
most  cases  ownership  may  mean  nothing  more  than  the  renting  of  an 
office.  The  function  performed  is  that  of  salesman. 

The  fifth  and  sixth  divisions  require  no  explanation.  Clerical 
service  is  rather  clearly  defined.  Agricultural  service  includes  owners, 
tenants,  and  laborers.  It  is,  however,  a  small  group  in  any  city  and  is 
foreign  to  the  urban  economy. 

The  seventh  division,  labeled  the  artisan-proprietors,  covers  a  group 
of  occupations  which  are  really  reminiscent  of  an  earlier  economic  order. 
Toward  the.  beginning  of  this  study  these  occupations  were  not  recog- 
nized as  a  separate  group,  but,  as  case  after  case  appeared  in  which  the 
artisan  owned  his  shop,  it  became  clear  that  some  separate  provision 
should  be  made  for  them. 

The  eighth,  ninth,  tenth,  and  eleventh  divisions  include  all  skilled 
and  semi-skilled  workers  in  the  manufacturing  and  mechanical  in- 
dustries. The  first  three  are  among  the  most  homogeneous  groups  in 
the  entire  classification,  each  being  composed  of  a  series  of  rather  closely 
related  and  well-known  trades.  The  fourth  is  a  sort  of  an  omnibus  class 
into  which  all  the  remaining  occupations  in  this  rather  broad  field, 
including  the  machine  operatives,  are  placed.  It  partakes  more  of  the 
nature  of  the  semi-skilled  trades  than  any  other  group  in  the  classifica- 
tion. 

The  twelfth  division  includes  practically  all  of  the  workers  in  the 
field  of  transportation  and  is  consequently  a  rather  heterogeneous 
class.  The  group  ranges  from  longshoremen  to  railroad  engineers  and 
conductors.  But  since  the  group  is  not  large  in  any  city  it  was  thought 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION— CLASSIFICATION  25 

unwise  to  further  complicate  the  classification  through  the  recognition 
of  another  division. 

The  last  five  divisions  require  little  comment.  The  meaning  of 
public  service  is  clear  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  personal  service. 
The  fifteenth  division  is  quite  heterogeneous,  including  the  workers  in 
mining,  lumbering,  and  fishing,  but  it  hardly  exists  in  our  cities.  In  the 
sixteenth  division  are  placed  all  common  laborers  from  whatever  field. 
It  includes  all  apprentices  and  helpers,  and  is  as  nearly  unskilled  as  any 
group  to  be  found  in  modern  society.  And  finally,  in  the  seventeenth 
and  last  division,  are  found  all  cases  in  which  the  father's  occupation 
was  not  given  or  in  which  the  data  were  so  meager  or  indefinite  as  to 
make  classification  impossible. 

The  data  analyzed  and  interpreted  in  the  following  chapters  are 
based  on  the  foregoing  classification.  In  every  case  where  information 
was  given  the  student  was  placed  in  that  division  to  which  his  father's 
occupation  belongs,  even  though  the  father  was  unemployed  at  the  time, 
retired  for  any  reason,  or  not  living.  In  case  the  father's  occupation 
was  not  given  and  the  occupation  of  the  guardian  was,  the  classification 
follows  the  latter.  In  no  instance  was  the  mother's  occupation  used  for 
this  purpose,  even  though  information  concerning  both  the  father  and 
guardian  was  lacking.  This  policy  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that 
the  father's  occupation  is  of  real  significance  in  determining  the  social 
status  and  outlook  of  the  child  almost  regardless  of  whether  he  is  working 
at  the  time  or  not;  and  that  the  occupation  of  the  mother  is  of  little 
importance  in  this  respect.  She  does  what  she  is  able  to  do,  when  it  is 
necessary  for  her  to  support  her  children,  and  the  opportunities  open 
to  her  are  limited. 

It  should  be  repeated  that  the  occupational  classification  outlined 
in  this  chapter  is  not  ideal  in  theory,  and  in  practice  is  less  so.  In  the 
first  place  it  is  extraordinarily  difficult  to  classify  occupations  today, 
because  the  lines  between  them  are  not  clearly  drawn  hi  the  economic 
order  and  occupations  are  being  formed  and  reformed  in  an  evolutionary 
series.  The  profound  changes  ushered  into  industry  with  the  advent  of 
power-driven  machinery,  marked  concentration  of  labor,  and  minute 
specialization  have  not  run  their  full  course.  In  the  second  place,  in 
some  cases  the  information  given  by  the  student  was  not  so  clear  as 
might  be  desired.  These  difficulties  and  shortcomings  should  not  be 
forgotten  while  reading  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  V 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT 

In  this  chapter  will  be  presented  the  facts  showing  the  occupations 
of  the  fathers  or  guardians  of  17,265  students  in  the  high  schools  of  the 
four  cities.  This  number  does  not  include  the  727  colored  children  in 
the  Sumner  High  School  in  St.  Louis,  which  will  receive  special  treat- 
ment in  a  separate  chapter.  In  interpreting  these  facts  attention  will 
be  directed  to  the  number  of  persons  in  the  general  population  engaged 
in  the  different  occupations. 

OCCUPATIONAL  COMPOSITION   OF  THE   HIGH-SCHOOL  POPULATION 

The  gross  data  are  given  in  Table  LX.  All  four  high-school  years 
are  combined.  It  will  be  observed  that  of  the  17,265  students,  3,427 
have  fathers  who  are  occupied  as  proprietors,  1,629  have  fathers  engaged 
in  some  sort  of  professional  service,  and  so  on. 

TABLE  LX 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  FATHERS  OR  GUARDIANS  OF  17,265  STUDENTS  IN  THE  HIGH 

SCHOOLS  OF  FOUR  CITIES — ALL  FOUR  YEARS  COMBINED — 

1919-20,  1920-21 


DUMBER 

Pi 

RCEN™ 

GE 

PARENTAL  OCCUPATION 

Bridge- 
port 

Mt. 
Vernon 

St. 

Louis 

Seattle 

Total 

it 

«  a 

1 
i^ 

J 

C/3 

JO 

i 

V) 

Total 

Proprietors 

28  o 

16  7 

19  8 

Professional  service.  .    . 
Managerial  service..  .    . 
Commercial  service  .  .    . 
Clerical  service.   .    .  . 

137 
385 
163 
98 

128 
181 

122 

67 

661 
1,228 
818 
550 

703 
1,052 
534 
281 

1,629 
2,846 
1,637 

6.1 
17.1 

7-2 

n.  8 
16.7 
11.3 
6  a 

8.8 
16.3 

10.  Q 

II.  I 
16.5 
8-3 

9.4 
16.5 
9-5 

r    8 

Agricultural  service..   . 
Artisan-proprietors..  .    . 
Building  trades  

49 
III 
116 

II 

56 

57 

63 

398 
428 

293 
158 

416 
723 

2.2 
4-9 

I.O 

5.2 

.8 
5-3 

4.6 

2-5 

2.4 
4-2 

Machine  trades  

318 

25 

432 

452 

2  3 

5  7 

7   i 

Printing  trades  

7 

4 

no 

65 

1  86 

.4 

I.  A 

I.O 

Miscellaneous  trades  ..  . 
Transportation  service  . 
Public  service  
Personal  service  .  . 

139 

77 
57 

3* 
26 

9 
6 

362 
397 
III 

81 

121 

346 
93 

654 
846 
270 
238 

6.1 

3.4 

2.5 

3-0 

2.4 
.8 

4.8 
5-3 
1.4 

1.9 

5.4 
1.5 

3-8 
4-9 
1.6 

Miners,   lumber- 
workers,  fishermen..  . 

I 

5 

60 

66 

Common  labor  

38 

18 

69 

88 

i  6 

Unknown  .  . 

<;66 

2  6 

Total  

2,257 

1,084 

6  387 

For  comparative  purposes  the  reader  should  pass  to  the  second  part 
of  this  table  in  which  the  facts  are  given  in  percentages.     A  glance  at 

26 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT  27 

the  percentages  for  the  four  cities  combined  shows  four  non-labor  groups 
in  the  lead  hi  the  following  order:  first,  the  proprietors;  second,  mana- 
gerial service;  third,  commercial  service ;  and  fourth,  professional  service. 
Among  the  labor  groups  only  two  could  be  said  to  be  well  represented, 
namely,  the  building  trades  and  the  machine  trades.  The  printing 
trades,  public  service,  personal  service,  miners,  lumber-workers,  fisher- 
men, and  common  labor  have  a  negligible  representation.  But  3.2  per 
cent  of  the  cases  are  classified  as  unknown.  This  means  that  satisfactory 
information  was  received  from  practically  all  of  the  students. 

An  examination  of  the  remainder  of  the  table,  giving  the  facts  for 
the  individual  cities,  shows  considerable  variation  in  the  character  of 
the  high-school  population  from  city  to  city.  Thus  the  percentage  of 
proprietors  ranges  from  16.7  in  Seattle  to  28.0  in  Mt.  Vernon;  that  of 
professional  people  from  6.1  in  Bridgeport  to  n.8  in  Mt.  Vernon;  that 
of  agricultural  workers  from  .8  in  St.  Louis  to  4.6  in  Seattle;  that  of 
persons  engaged  in  the  building  trades  from  5.1  in  Bridgeport  to  11.3 
in  Seattle;  that  of  those  working  in  the  machine  trades  from  2.3  in  Mt. 
Vernon  to  14.1  in  Bridgeport.  It  is  interesting,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
note  the  constancy  of  the  representation  of  managerial  service,  the 
percentage  ranging  merely  from  16.3  in  St.  Louis  to  17.1  in  Bridgeport,  a 
range  of  less  than  i  per  cent.  The  differences  in  the  character  of  the 
high-school  population  are  to  be  explained  either  in  terms  of  the  special 
occupational  and  industrial  interests  of  the  four  cities  or  hi  terms  of  the 
proportion  of  children  of  high-school  age  enrolled  in  the  high  school. 
For  example,  the  first  explanation  accounts  for  the  very  large  proportion 
of  students  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in 
the  machine  trades.  Because  of  the  nature  of  Bridgeport's  industries 
an  exceptionally  large  number  of  her  workers  are  machinists.  Conse- 
quently the  number  of  machinists'  children  in  the  high  school  is  unusually 
large.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  evidence  to  indicate  that  the  machin- 
ists of  Seattle  send  a  much  larger  percentage  of  their  children  to  high 
school  than  do  those  of  Bridgeport.  The  relatively  large  proportion  of 
children  in  the  Mt.  Vernon  High  School  coming  from  the  non-labor  groups 
is  also  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  the  character  of  the  adult  population. 
As  already  pointed  out,  Mt.  Vernon  is  largely  a  residential  city  for 
middle-class  folk  having  business  in  New  York  City.  Differences  in 
occupational  and  industrial  interests,  however,  do  not  account  for  the 
appreciably  larger  representation  of  the  proprietors  in  the  St.  Louis  than 
in  the  Seattle  schools.  The  second  explanation  is  pertinent  here. 
In  the  adult  population  there  is  actually  a  larger  proportion  of  proprietors 


28  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

in  Seattle  than  in  St.  Louis.  But  since  the  St.  Louis  schools  attract  a 
much  smaller  percentage  of  the  children  of  high-school  age,  her  high- 
school  population  is  more  highly  selected,  containing  fewer  children  from 
the  laboring  classes  and  a  larger  proportion  from  the  well-to-do  groups. 
Many  other  interesting  differences  will  be  noted  by  the  careful  reader 
who  examines  the  table. 

A  more  concrete  picture  of  the  high-school  population  is  presented 
in  Table  X,  in  which  are  given  the  probable  occupations  of  the  fathers 
or  guardians  of  one  hundred  high-school  students  taken  at  random  from 
the  high-school  populations  of  the  four  cities.  If  all  the  students  in 
these  high  schools  should  be  transported  to  the  same  place,  and  if  the 
reader,  happening  to  arrive  at  that  place,  should  make  inquiry  of  the  first 
one  hundred  young  people  encountered  regarding  the  parental  occupa- 
tion, he  would  get  a  result  not  very  different  from  that  presented  in  this 
table.  The  writer  is  of  the  opinion  further  that  a  similar  sampling  of  the 
high-school  populations  of  four  other  representative  American  cities 
would  yield  a  corresponding  result,  because  of  the  fundamental  similarity 
of  populations  and  conditions  from  city  to  city.  To  be  sure,  the  exact 
occupations  here  given  would  not  all  appear,  although  a  surprisingly 
large  number  of  them  would,  but  the  general  impression  conveyed  would 
be  about  the  same.  Thus,  instead  of  a  hotelkeeper  there  might  be  an 
additional  grocer;  among  the  professional  people  there  might  be  several 
physicians,  and  no  civil  engineer  or  architect;  and  in  the  place  of  the 
painter  there  might  appear  a  sheet-metal  worker.  In  constructing  this 
table  individual  occupations  were  necessarily  selected  somewhat  arbitra- 
rily in  a  good  many  instances,  since  it  was  necessary  to  choose  from 
several  occupations,  no  one  of  which  occurred  as  frequently  as  once 
among  every  one  hundred  high-school  students.  For  example,  the 
occupation  of  railroad  conductor,  or  that  of  street-car  motorman  might 
have  been  selected  instead  of  that  of  locomotive  engineer.  The  merest 
glance  through  the  table  will  show  many  more  cases  where  the  same 
method  was  necessarily  followed  and  where  the  same  criticism  is  perti- 
nent. The  larger  occupational  divisions,  however,  would  probably 
appear  in  any  large  and  representative  high-school  population  just 
about  as  they  do  here. 

COMPARISON  WITH  THE  ADULT  POPULATION 

The  analysis  of  the  high-school  population  just  presented  gives 
the  impression  that  the  laboring  classes  do  not  constitute  the  prepon- 
derant element  in  the  public  high  school.  The  reader  also,  in  all  proba- 
bility, carries  the  impression  from  everyday  experience  that  in  the 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT 


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30  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

ordinary  American  city  a  large  proportion  of  the  population,  if  not  a 
majority,  are  manual  laborers.  An  attempt  will  now  be  made  to 
discover  the  relation  between  the  representation  of  each  of  the  occupa- 
tional groups  in  the  general  population  and  its  representation  in  the 
high  school. 

The  problem  is  complicated  somewhat  because  of  the  well-known 
fact  that  certain  of  the  occupations  are  carried  on  in  large  measure  by 
young  people.  This  is  true  of  the  clerical  occupations,  for  example, 
certain  commerical  occupations,  many  of  the  miscellaneous  trades, 
common  labor,  and  others.  Obviously  it  would  not  do  therefore  to 
compare  the  number  of  children  in  high  school  from  a  certain  occupa- 
tional group  with  the  total  number  of  persons  engaged  in  that  set  of 
occupations.  The  occupation  recruiting  its  ranks  largely  from  persons 
on  the  youthful  side  of  middle  life  could  not  possibly  have  a  large  propor- 
tion of  children  of  high-school  age.  In  attacking  the  problem  two 
things  are  necessary:  first,  a  knowledge  of  the  age  of  the  fathers  of 
high-school  students;  and  second,  a  knowledge  of  the  number  of  men 
of  this  age  to  be  found  in  each  group  of  occupations. 

The  first  of  these  two  tasks  is  an  easy  one.  It  would  not  be  difficult 
to  make  a  rough  estimate  of  the  probable  age-distribution  of  the  fathers 
of  high-school  students  from  our  knowledge  of  biological  laws.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  rely  on  such  an  a  priori  judgment,  however,  since  the 
facts  were  obtained  from  the  entire  student  population  of  one  of  the 
large  Seattle  high  schools.  Table  XI  is  derived  from  the  data  furnished 
by  these  students.  According  to  these  figures  an  age-period  of  twenty 
years,  the  period  from  40  to  60,  includes  over  80  per  cent  of  the  fathers; 
and  the  median  age  is  48.5  years.  Since  this  particular  high  school 
draws  its  student  body  from  no  special  social  class,  facts  from  other 
communities  would  probably  parallel  these  rather  closely. 

TABLE  XI 

PROBABLE  AGE-DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  FATHERS  OF  1,000  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS 

DERIVED  FROM  DATA  GIVEN  BY  1,391  STUDENTS  IN  LINCOLN 

HIGH  SCHOOL,  SEATTLE 


Age-Period 

30-4 

35-9 

40-4 

4S~9 

5»-4 

55-9 

60-4 

6S-9 

70-4 

75-9 

Total 

Median 

Number  

7 

8"? 

7T8 

"78 

220 

IO2 

CO 

17 

c 

2 

1  ,000 

48   c 

The  second  task,  involving  the  determination  of  the  number  of  men 
of  the  foregoing  ages  in  these  cities  engaged  in  each  set  of  occupations, 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT  31 

is  not  so  easy.  In  the  first  place,  the  occupational  census  for  1920  is 
not  yet  available.  It  is  therefore  necessary  to  place  reliance  on  the 
data  presented  in  the  previous  census,  that  of  1910.  It  is  improbable, 
however,  that  the  occupational  distribution  of  the  population  in  any 
city  has  changed  in  any  marked  degree  during  the  past  ten  years. 
Consequently  this  may  not  be  regarded  as  a  source  of  serious  error. 

In  the  second  place  the  age-periods  recognized  in  the  occupational 
census  are  not  exactly  the  periods  that  would  be  most  serviceable  for 
this  study.  Furthermore,  in  the  distribution  of  occupations  by  age- 
periods,  the  facts  are  not  given  for  all  occupations  nor  for  all  cities,  but 
only  for  certain  selected  callings  in  each  of  the  cities  of  more  than 
100,000  inhabitants.  The  only  complete  occupational  census  includes 
hi  a  single  figure  the  entire  number  of  males  over  ten  years  of  age  pursuing 
each  occupation.  Thus  for  Bridgeport,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle  the  num- 
ber of  males  engaged  in  certain  selected  occupations  is  given  by  the 
following  age-periods:  ten  to  thirteen  years;  fourteen  to  fifteen;  sixteen 
to  twenty;  twenty-one  to  forty-four;  and  forty-five  years  and  over. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  was  decided  to  merely  make  the  best  possible 
estimate  of  the  number  of  males  over  forty-five  years  of  age  in  each  of 
the  four  cities  engaged  in  each  of  the  occupational  divisions  used  hi 
this  study.  This  was  done  by  first  tabulating  the  total  number  of  males 
over  ten  years  of  age  to  be  found  in  each  of  these  divisions  in  each  of  the 
four  cities.  Then,  for  each  of  the  three  larger  cities,  the  selected  occupa- 
tions, for  which  the  detailed  age-distribution  was  given,  were  arranged 
under  the  classification  used  here,  and  the  proportion  of  males  over 
forty-five  years  of  age  was  noted.  The  results  of  this  calculation  are 
given  in  Table  XII.  The  wide  range  hi  the  proportion  of  workers  in 
the  various  occupations  who  are  over  forty-five  years  of  age  is  at  once 
apparent.  At  the  one  extreme  are  the  managerial  occupations  in  which 
36  per  cent  of  the  workers  are  in  this  age-group;  at  the  other  are  the 
clerical  pursuits  in  which  this  percentage  is  but  14. 

Perhaps  the  reader  has  already  observed  that  two  of  the  occupational 
divisions  used  hi  our  classification  do  not  appear  in  Table  XII,  namely, 
agricultural  service  and  the  artisan-proprietors.  The  first  was  not 
included  because  the  agricultural  occupations  do  not  constitute  a 
normal  part  of  the  life  of  the  city.  Many  of  the  high-school  students 
from  this  source  are  living  in  the  city  for  the  purpose  of  attending  school. 
There  is  consequently  no  natural  relation  between  the  number  of  children 
in  the  high  school  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  these  occupations  and 
the  number  of  adults  so  engaged,  according  to  the  census.  The  artisan- 


32  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

proprietors  were  omitted  from  this  table,  because  in  the  census  report 
they  are  not  distinguished  from  the  retail  dealers  and  the  manufacturers 
on  the  one  hand  and  the  artisans  on  the  other. 

TABLE  XII 

PERCENTAGE  or  MALES  ENGAGED  IN  EACH  OCCUPATION  WHO  ARE 
FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  AGE  AND  OVER,  DERIVED  FROM  THE 
CENSUS  FIGURES  FOR  SELECTED  OCCUPATIONS  IN  BRIDGEPORT, 
ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE  (1910) 


Occupation 

Percentage  Forty- 
five  Years  or  Over 

Proprietors  

•Zf 

Professional  service  

28 

Managerial  service  

36 

Commercial  service  

10 

Clerical  service  

14 

Building  trades                                                         . 

27            * 

Machine  trades  

24 

Printing  trades  

16 

Miscellaneous  trades  

17 

Transportation  service  

17 

Public  service  

2Q 

Personal  service  

18 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen    

20 

Common  labor  

20 

Going  back  now  to  the  total  number  of  males  over  ten  years  of  age 
engaged  in  each  set  of  occupations  in  the  four  cities  and  applying  the 
percentages  given  in  Table  XII,  it  is  possible  to  approximate  the  actual 
number  of  men  over  forty-five  to  be  found  in  these  pursuits  in  1910.  This 
figure,  along  with  the  number  of  high-school  students  whose  fathers  or 
guardians  are  engaged  in  the  same  occupations,  is  given  in  Table  XIII. 
The  relation  between  these  two  sets  of  figures  is  also  given  in  this  table 
in  terms  of  the  number  of  students  in  the  high  schools  of  these  four 
cities  from  each  occupational  group  for  every  1,000  men  over  forty-five 
engaged  in  the  same  occupations.  This  relation  is  really  the  final 
object  of  this  rather  extended  series  of  computations  and  calculations. 

This  table  shows  very  clearly  that  certain  of  the  occupational  groups 
have  a  much  better  representation  in  the  high  school  than  others  in 
proportion  to  their  representation  in  that  part  of  our  population  in  which 
the  fathers  of  children  of  high-school  age  are  found.  Since  these  same 
facts  are  presented  graphically  in  Figure  2,  the  reader's  time  will  be 
,  economized  by  directing  his  attention  to  it  at  once.  A  hasty  survey 
of  the  diagram  shows  that  the  laboring  groups  suffer  in  the  comparison, 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT 


33 


TABLE  XIII 

ESTIMATED  NUMBER  OF  MEN  FORTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  AGE  AND  OVER  ENGAGED  IN 
EACH  SET  OF  OCCUPATIONS  IN  BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND 
SEATTLE  (1910);  NUMBER  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS  WHOSE  FATHERS  OR 
GUARDIANS  ARE  ENGAGED  IN  EACH  SET  OF  OCCUPATIONS  IN  THE  SAME 
CITIES,  ACCORDING  TO  STUDIES  MADE  IN  1919-20  AND  1920-21;  AND  NUMBER 
OF  THE  LATTER  FOR  EVERY  1,000  OF  THE  FORMER  FOR  EACH  SET  OF  OCCUPATIONS 


Parental  Occupation 

Men  Forty-five 
Years  of  Age 
and  Over 

Students  in 
High  School 

Number  in 
High  School  for 
Every  1,000 
Men  Forty-five 
Years  and  Over 

Proprietors   

II  ,  l-zc 

•2  ,  7QQ 

241 

Professional  service  

4>52° 

1,629 

360 

Managerial  service  

7,  1  20 

2,846 

400 

Commercial  service  

6,682 

i  .637 

241 

Clerical  service  

4,ccg 

006 

210 

Building  trades         

0,872 

1  ,43? 

IA.S 

Machine  trades  

7,681 

1,300 

169 

Printing  trades  

845 

1  86 

22O 

Miscellaneous  trades  

7,881 

809 

IO3 

Transportation  service  

<J,703 

8<;o 

IC7 

Public  service    

i  ,  "c6o 

270 

173 

Personal  service  •.  

4,941 

249 

50 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  and  fishermen  .  .  . 
Common  labor   

1,142 
12,429 

66 
213 

58 

17 

Total   

86  ,  i  59 

16,283 

189 

Managerial  service 

Professional  service 

Proprietors 

Commercial  service 

Printing  trades 

Clerical  service 

Public  service 

Machine  trades 

Transportation  service 

Building  trades 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Miners,  lumber -workers,  fishermen 

Personal  service 

Common  labor 

All  occupations 


(189) 


400 


FIG.  2. — Showing  the  number  of  children  in  the  high  schools  of  four  cities 
(Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  Seattle)  from  each  occupational  group  for  every 
1,000  males  over  forty-five  years  of  age  engaged  in  that  occupation  in  the  four  cities, 
according  to  the  Federal  Census  for  1910.  Data  from  16,283  high-school  students. 


34  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

and  some  of  them  suffer  very  badly.  Note  the  two  extremes,  for  example. 
Managerial  service  leads  with  400  students  in  high  school  to  every  1,000 
men  over  forty-five  in  the  general  population.  At  the  other  end  of  the 
series  is  common  labor  with  but  seventeen.  The  one  labor  group  that 
stands  out  with  a  good  record  is  the  printing  trades.  It  is  one  point  ahead 
of  one  of  the  non-labor  groups,  clerical  service.  This  is  probably  to  be 
explained  in  terms  of  the  superior  education  of  persons  engaged  in  the 
printing  industry,  the  associations  formed  in  the  occupation,  and  the 
stability  of  employment.  The  favorable  position  of  the  public  service 
is  probably  to  be  explained  in  the  same  way. 

A  word  of  criticism  is  pertinent  here.  In  the  light  of  other  findings 
of  the  study  to  be  presented  in  later  chapters  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  order  of  the  groups  at  the  upper  end  of  the  diagram  is  not 
altogether  correct,  due  to  certain  difficulties  arising  from  the  effort  to 
translate  the  classification  of  the  census  over  into  the  classification  used 
in  this  study.  The  managerial  service  certainly  should  not  rank 
first,  but  it  gets  that  rank  here  because  the  census  does  not  in  all  cases 
draw  a  clear  line  between  managers  and  owners.  Also  there  are  probably 
a  considerable  number  of  individuals  returned  as  commercial  workers 
who  occupy  managerial  positions  in  commerce.  Consequently  the 
number  of  persons  in  the  directing  occupations  is  reported  as  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  actual  facts  would  warrant.  This  results  in  a  larger 
proportionate  representation  in  high  school.  Commercial  service,  on 
the  other  hand,  should  rank  somewhat  higher  than  it  is  placed  here. 
This  group  of  workers  is  probably  diluted  in  the  census  report  by  the 
inclusion  of  a  considerable  number  of  clerical  workers,  due  to  the  ambi- 
guity in  the  meaning  of  the  term  clerk.  The  order  of  the  first  four  groups 
should  probably  be  as  follows:  professional  service,  proprietors,  com- 
mercial service,  and  managerial  service.  The  evidence  favoring  this 
order  will  be  noted  from  time  to  time  in  this  study. 

It  is  probable,  for  three  reasons,  that  the  proportion  of  children  in 
high  school  from  the  laboring  groups  is  somewhat  smaller  than  this 
diagram  suggests.  In  the  first  place,  the  acceptance  of  the  number  of 
men  over  forty-five  in  each  occupation  as  the  basis  for  comparison  gives 
a  certain  advantage  to  those  occupations  in  which  the  proportion  of  such 
men  is  relatively  small,  because  over  30  per  cent  of  the  fathers  of  high- 
school  students  are  under  forty-five.  As  a  consequence,  the  occupations 
engaging  few  men  beyond  this  age  are  not  given  a  representation  in  the 
general  population  proportionate  to  the  actual  number  of  fathers  of 
high-school  students  to  be  found  in  them.  Since  on  the  average  the 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  TOTAL  ENROLMENT  35 

laboring  classes  are  recruited  less  from  the  older  men  than  are  the  other 
groups,  it  is  apparent  that  the  procedure  followed  here  favors  them. 
Of  course,  among  the  non-labor  groups,  it  is  true  that  the  clerical  and 
commercial  workers  are  likewise  favored.  In  the  second  place,  the 
average  number  of  children  per  family  among  the  manual  laborers  is 
somewhat  larger  than  it  is  among  the  other  classes  of  the  population. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  lower  grades  of  labor.  Therefore,  if  the 
children  from  these  elements  in  the  population  were  enrolled  in  the  high 
school  in  proportionate  numbers,  their  ratio  to  the  number  of  adults  of 
the  parental  age  in  the  same  population  groups  should  be  larger  than 
that  for  children  from  other  classes  with  a  lower  birth-rate.  In  the 
third  place,  earlier  marriages  and  a  higher  marriage  rate  among  the 
laboring  classes  than  among  the  more  well-to-do  members  of  society 
work  toward  the  same  end.  These  considerations  should  incline  us 
therefore  toward  a  revision  of  Table  IX  and  Figure  2  in  the  direction 
of  larger  rather  than  smaller  differences  between  the  two  extremes. 


CHAPTER  VI 
PARENTAL   OCCUPATION   AND   PROGRESS   THROUGH   THE   SCHOOL 

In  the  previous  chapter  the  character  of  the  total  high-school  popula- 
tion has  been  under  examination.  The  proportionately  larger  represen- 
tation of  the  proprietors,  professionals,  managers,  and  commercial 
workers  was  noted.  In  this  chapter  the  composition  of  the  school 
population  in  the  earlier  years  will  be  compared  with  that  in  the  later 
years.  For  this  analysis  we  have  data  from  the  students  in  each  of  the 
four  years  in  the  high  schools  of  the  four  cities  and  from  the  pupils  of  the 
sixth  grade  in  Mt.  Vernon. 

THE   FRESHMAN   AND   SENIOR   YEARS 

All  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  the  number  of  students  in  the 
Senior  year  of  the  high  school  is  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  total  high- 
school  enrolment,  far  below  the  25  per  cent  that  would  result  if  the  same 
number  of  young  people  entered  the  Freshman  class  every  year,  if  all 
were  promoted  regularly,  if  there  were  no  deaths  or  eliminations,  and 
if  there  were  no  accretions  except  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  year. 
According  to  the  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Education  for  1917-18,  the 
students  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  constituted  39.8  per  cent  of 
the  total  high-school  enrolment  in  the  United  States;  those  in  the 
second  year,  26.9  per  cent;  those  in  the  third  year  18.8  per  cent;  and 
those  in  the  fourth  year  but  14.5  per  cent.  The  relatively  small  propor- 
tion in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school  is  due  chiefly  to  two  causes, 
namely,  elimination  and  the  increasing  size  of  the  Freshman  class, 
the  latter  resulting  from  the  normal  population  increase  and  the  in- 
creasing interest  in  secondary  education  on  the  part  of  children  and 
their  parents. 

Because  of  the  small  number  of  students  in  the  Senior  year  it  is 
naturally  assumed  that  some  sort  of  selection  is  going  on  continually  in 
the  high  school.  Many  studies  have  been  made  of  the  process  of 
elimination  and  of  the  character  of  the  eliminated.  It  is  our  purpose 
here  to  note  the  social  composition  of  the  student  population  in  the  last 
year  as  contrasted  with  the  first.  The  facts  for  the  four  cities  combined 
appear  in  Table  XIV.  For  each  of  the  two  years  the  percentages  of 
students  coming  from  the  various  occupational  groups  are  given.  It  is 

36 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  PROGRESS  THROUGH  SCHOOL     37 

plain  that  the  Senior  class  in  these  high  schools  does  not  differ  from  the 
Freshman  class  merely  in  the  age  of  its  students  and  their  advance- 
ment in  the  course.  The  proportions  coming  from  the  different  elements 
in  the  population  are  noticeably  different.  The  children  from  the  labor- 
ing classes  constitute  in  every  instance  a  smaller  percentage  of  the  total 
enrolment  of  the  last  than  of  the  first  year  of  the  school.  On  the  other 
hand  a  larger  percentage  of  the  Seniors  than  of  the  Freshmen  are  children 
of  the  proprietors,  the  professionals,  the  managers,  and  the  commercial 
workers.  Two  groups  make  equal  proportionate  contributions  to  the 
two  classes,  namely,  the  clerical  and  agricultural  workers. 

TABLE  XIV 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  IN  EACH  OF  Two  HIGH-SCHOOL  YEARS  FROM  EACH 
OF  THE  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  BRIDGEPORT,  MT. 
VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE:  DATA  FROM  6,782  FRESHMEN  AND  2,522 
SENIORS 


Parental  Occupation 

Freshman 

Senior 

Proprietors   

17.7 

22    Q 

Professional  service  

7.7 

12    S 

Managerial  service  

IS.  4 

IO.I 

Commercial  service  

8.6 

II  .1 

Clerical  service  

e.o 

e.O 

Agricultural  service  

2.3 

2   3 

Artisan-proprietors  

44. 

•j    e 

Building  trades  

8.8 

e.2 

Machine  trades  

8.3 

4.6 

Printing  trades  

I.O 

.8 

Miscellaneous  trades    

4.8 

2.  -I 

Transportation  service  

6.2 

3-6 

Public  service  

1.7 

I  .  I 

Personal  service  

i  .4 

.0 

Miners,  lumber-  workers,  fishermen  

.  e 

.  "2 

Common  labor  

1.8 

.6 

Unknown  

3-S 

1.2 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

These  same  facts  under  a  slight  adaptation  are  presented  graphically 
in  Figure  3.  Here  is  shown  for  each  group  the  number  in  the  Senior 
year  for  every  100  from  the  same  group  hi  the  Freshman  year.  This 
ratio  that  the  one  year  bears  toward  the  other  exhibits  a  very  wide  range 
among  the  various  occupations,  as  an  inspection  of  the  diagram  clearly 
reveals.  As  a  general  proposition,  those  occupations  having  a  relatively 
poor  representation  in  the  high  school  are  just  the  ones  with  a  small 
proportion  in  the  Senior  year.  At  the  two  extremes  are  professional 


49658 


service  and  common  labor.  For  the  former  there  are  60.2  students  in 
the  Senior  year  for  every  100  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the  high  school; 
whereas,  for  the  latter  this  ratio  is  but  1 2.4.  The  facts  for  the  Sophomore 
and  Junior  years,  as  might  be  assumed,  show  a  condition  intermediate 
between  the  two  extreme  years.  They  are  therefore  not  given  here. 
It  seems  that  as  we  pass  from  year  to  year  in  the  high  school,  we  see  the 
children  from  the  laboring  classes  constituting  a  less  and  less  important 
element  of  the  student  population. 


Professional  service 

Proprietors 

Commercial  service 

Managerial  service 

Clerical  service 

Agricultural  service 

Artisan-proprietors 

Printing  trades 

Public  service 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen 

Building  trades 

Personal  service 

Transportation  service 

Machine  trades 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Common  labor 

All  occupations 

FIG.  3. — Showing  for  each  occupational  group  the  number  of  students  in  the 
Senior  year  for  every  100  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the  high  school.  Data  from  Bridge- 
port, Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle. 

An  analysis  of  the  data  from  the  different  cities  shows  some  differences, 
but  they  are  quantitative  rather  than  qualitative.  The  laboring  classes 
hold  their  own  better  in  some  of  the  cities  than  they  do  in  others,  but  in 
every  instance  their  record  is  relatively  inferior  to  that  of  the  other 
groups.  Thus  the  nine  laboring  groups  (the  building  trades,  machine 
trades,  printing  trades,  miscellaneous  trades,  transportation  service, 
public  service,  personal  service,  miners,  lumber-workers,  and  fishermen, 
and  common  labor)  contribute  26.5  per  cent  of  the  membership  in  the 
Senior  class  in  Bridgeport;  23.3  per  cent  in  Seattle;  15.2  per  cent  in 
St.  Louis;  and  but  4.3  per  cent  in  Mt.  Vernon.  These  differences  are, 
to  be  sure,  accounted  for  in  some  measure  by  occupational  differences 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  PROGRESS  THROUGH  SCHOOL     39 

in  the  populations  of  the  several  cities.  The  high  proportion  in  Bridge- 
port is  certainly  largely  explained  in  this  way.  Bridgeport  is  very  highly 
industrialized.  The  laboring  classes  consequently  constitute  an  excep- 
tionally large  element  in  the  population.  The  very  low  percentage  of 
children  from  these  classes  in  the  Senior  year  of  Mt.  Veraon  is  also 
to  be  explained  largely  in  terms  of  the  occupational  character  of  the  popu- 
lation itself.  The  records  of  Seattle  and  St.  Louis,  on  the  other  hand, 
are  not  to  be  interpreted  in  this  way.  The  large  representation  of  the 
laboring  groups  in  the  former  city  is  not  due  to  their  large  numbers  in 
the  general  population.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  form  a  less  important 
numerical  group  in  Seattle  than  in  St.  Louis.  The  high  schools  of  the 
former  seem  to  hold  the  children  of  laborers  unusually  well. 

THE   SOCIAL  COMPOSITION   OF  THE   SIXTH   GRADE 

By  the  time  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  is  reached  the 
student  population  is  already  greatly  reduced  and  presumably 
already  considerably  selected.  It  is  fortunate  therefore  that  for  at 
least  one  of  the  cities,  Mt.  Vernon,  facts  regarding  the  social  composition 
of  the  entire  sixth  grade  were  secured.  Of  course  there  are  many 
children  who  do  not  even  reach  this  point  in  our  educational  system, 
because  of  retardation  and  elimination.  This  group  of  children,  there- 
fore, may  be  assumed  to  be  somewhat  different  socially  from  the  children 
in  the  first  grade,  or  from  the  children  secured  by  taking  a  cross-section 
of  the  entire  population  at  any  particular  age.  It  nevertheless  provides 
us  with  significant  data  for  comparative  purposes. 

The  percentage  of  children  from  each  of  the  occupational  groups  for 
both  the  sixth  grade  and  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  is  given 
in  Table  XV.  The  difference  between  the  first  and  last  high-school 
years  already  noted  is  seen  to  be  greatly  accentuated.  And  it  is  probable 
that  the  difference  would  be  somewhat  greater  in  a  city  with  a  larger 
laboring  population.  Even  here  the  majority  of  the  children  in  the 
sixth  grade  come  from  the  homes  of  laborers.  This  is  certainly  not 
true  of  the  students  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school.  These  two 
cross-sections  of  the  school  population  give  us  two  very  different  sociolog- 
ical pictures.  They  might  almost  be  conceived  as  representative  of  two 
different  social  orders. 

The  contrast  is  so  striking  that  it  seems  advisable  to  give  it  a  graph- 
ical representation.  This  is  done  in  Figure  4  by  taking  four  occupational 
groups  showing  different  tendencies  and  plotting  a  curve  for  each, 
picturing  its  percentage  representation  in  the  school  population  of  each 


40  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

TABLE  XV 

PERCENTAGE  OF  CHILDREN  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  IN  EACH  OF  Two 
SCHOOL  GRADES.    DATA  FROM  739  CHILDREN  IN  THE  SIXTH  GRADE  AND 
136  IN  THE  SENIOR  YEAR  OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  MT.  VERNON 


Parental  Occupation 

Sixth  Grade 

Senior  Year  of  High 
School 

Proprietors  

13-  1 

29.4 

Professional  service  

6.8 

16.9 

Managerial  service  

IO.O 

20.  6 

Commercial  service  

6.0 

IS-4 

Clerical  service  

4.  » 

5.2 

Agricultural  service  

2.  3 

.0 

Artisan-proprietors  

Q.I 

5.2 

Building  trades  

16.5 

.7 

Machine  trades  

4-7 

.7 

Printing  trades  

.4 

.0 

Miscellaneous  trades  

C.2 

2.2 

Transportation  service  

4.2 

.7 

Public  service  

I  .5 

.0 

Personal  service  

2.4 

.0 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen  

.4 

.0 

Common  labor  

10.8 

.0 

Unknown  

2  .  ? 

7.O 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

FIG.  4. — Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  grade  from  the  sixth  to  the 
twelfth  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  each  of  four  groups  of  occupations.  Mt.  Vernon, 
May,  1921.  No  data  for  seventh  and  eighth  grades. 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  PROGRESS  THROUGH  SCHOOL     41 

grade  from  the  sixth  to  the  twelfth.  Since  we  have  no  data  from  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  the  position  of  the  curve  in  these  grades  for 
each  group  is  purely  hypothetical.  Based  on  actual  facts  it  would 
probably  not  follow  exactly  the  course  given  it  here,  but  its  general 
direction  would  be  the  same.  The  diagram  shows  in  an  impressive  way 
the  diverse  reactions  of  these  four  groups  to  educational  opportunity. 
Each  of  the  occupational  divisions  was  chosen  for  a  reason — common 
labor  and  professional  service,  because  they  represent  the  two  extremes; 
clerical  service  because  it  represents  an  intermediate  tendency;  and  the 
building  trades  because  they  constitute  the  largest  labor  group  as  well  as 
the  largest  occupational  group  in  the  sixth  grade.  The  proportion  of 
children  from  the  building  trades  and  common  labor  in  each  grade 
diminishes  very  rapidly  as  we  pass  from  one  year  to  the  next.  The  latter 
has  practically  disappeared  in  the  Sophomore  year,  and  the  former  are 
barely  able  to  keep  a  slight  representation  until  the  end  of  the  high  school. 
Professional  service,  on  the  other  hand,  furnishes  a  constantly  increasing 
percentage  of  the  school  population  as  progress  is  made  through  the 
schools.  Clerical  service  improves  its  position  slightly,  but  does  little 
more  than  hold  its  own.  The  other  non-labor  groups  show  tendencies 
similar  to  those  of  professional  service,  and  the  remaining  labor  groups 
behave  much  as  the  building  trades. 

Perhaps  one  more  chart  bearing  on  this  same  matter  will  not  tire  the 
reader.  In  Figure  5  is  shown  for  each  occupational  group  the  num- 
ber of  children  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  for  every  one 
hundred  in  the  sixth  grade.  Comment  is  hardly  necessary.  The  dia- 
gram carries  its  own  message.  It  brings  out  with  peculiar  force  the 
enormous  contrast  between  the  school  populations  in  these  two  years 
of  the  Mt.  Vernon  public  schools. 

Since  the  organization  of  most  of  the  work  in  most  of  our  high  schools 
assumes  four  years  of  attendance,  the  number  and  character  of  the 
student  population  in  the  Senior  year  might  be  expected  to  afford  one 
of  the  most  satisfactory  measures  of  the  extension  of  secondary  educa- 
tional opportunity.  The  Senior  class  should  tell  much  about  the  success 
of  the  high  school  in  reaching  the  various  elements  hi  the  population. 
It  is  for  this  group  especially  that  the  ordinary  high  school  is  maintained. 

In  the  previous  chapter  the  total  high-school  population  was  analyzed 
in  the  light  of  the  social  composition  of  that  adult  population  from 
which  children  of  high-school  age  come.  This  same  thing  is  done  for 
the  students  of  the  Senior  year  in  Figure  6.  Here  is  shown  for  each 
occupational  group  the  number  of  students  in  the  Senior  year  of  the 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


48 


Commercial  service 

Professional  service 

Proprietors 

Managerial  service 

Clerical  service 

Artisan-proprietors 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Transportation  service 

Machine  trades 

Building  trades 

Printing  trades 

Agricultural  service 

Personal  service 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen 

Common  labor 

Public  service 

All  occupations 


(47.7) 
(46.0) 
(41.2) 

(-1  81 

(21-9) 

mmmmm 

mmmm 

(10.4) 

••••• 

(7-9) 

m^m 

(3-2) 

• 

(2.9) 

• 

(.8) 

i 

(o) 

(o) 

(o) 

(o) 

(o) 

(o) 

(18.4) 

l^— 

mmm 

FIG.  5. — Showing  for  each  occupational  group  the  number  of  children  in  the 
Senior  year  of  the  high  school  for  every  100  from  the  same  group  in  the  sixth  grade  of 
the  elementary  school.  Mt.  Vernon,  May,  1921. 


Professional  service 

Managerial  service 

Proprietors 

Commercial  service 

Clerical  service 

Printing  trades 

Public  service 

Machine  trades 

Transportation  service 

Building  trades 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen 

Personal  service 

Common  labor 

All  occupations 


FIG.  6. — Showing  the  number  of  children  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  in 
four  cities  (Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  Seattle)  from  each  occupational  group 
for  every  1,000  males  over  forty-five  years  of  age  engaged  in  that  occupation  hi  the 
four  cities,  according  to  the  Federal  Census  for  1910.  Data  from  2,382  high-school 
Seniors. 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  PROGRESS  THROUGH  SCHOOL     43 

high  school  in  the  four  cities  for  every  1,000  men  over  forty-five  years  of 
age  engaged  in  that  occupation  in  these  same  cities,  according  to  the 
thirteenth  census.  The  reasons  for  choosing  the  number  of  males  over 
forty-five  as  the  basis  for  comparison  have  already  been  given,  so  need 
not  be  repeated.  As  might  be  expected  from  the  data  presented  in  this 
chapter  thus  far,  the  differences  between  the  laboring  and  the  non- 
laboring  groups  are  greater  here  than  for  the  total  high-school  population. 
It  appears  that  the  chances  that  the  child  of  a  father  engaged  in  one  of 
the  professional  pursuits  will  reach  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school 
are  sixty-nine  times  as  great  as  those  of  the  child  whose  father  is  a 
common  laborer.  These  two  occupational  classes  represent  the  extremes. 
The  others  fall  in  between  in  a  gradual  series  with  the  laboring  groups 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  distribution. 

Table  XVI  gives  a  concrete  picture  of  the  occupations  represented 
in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  as  Table  XI  did  for  the  entire  high 
school.  The  same  caution  is  necessary  in  interpreting  this  as  was 
suggested  in  the  discussion  of  the  earlier  table.  Many  of  these  particular 
occupations  might  not  appear  in  a  group  of  one  hundred  students 
selected  at  random  from  the  Senior  classes  in  the  high  schools  of  these 
four  cities,  but  the  larger  groups  of  which  these  occupations  are  repre- 
sentative would.  Nothing  could  show  more  plainly  than  this  table  that 
the  students  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  public  high  school  are  socially  a 
highly  selected  group. 

The  objection  may  be  raised  here  that  the  differences  between  the 
earlier  and  later  years  are  due  to  the  promotion  of  the  fathers  from  less 
responsible  to  more  responsible  positions,  or  to  their  acquisition  of 
property  which  enables  them  to  set  up  business  for  themselves  and  thus 
enter  the  ranks  of  the  proprietors.  Obviously  to  the  extent  that  this 
is  going  on  during  the  period  of  high-school  attendance  the  character 
of  the  student  population  in  the  Senior  year  will  differ  from  that  of  the 
students  in  the  Freshman  year  in  the  direction  indicated  in  this  chapter. 
If,  for  example,  a  goodly  proportion  of  the  fathers  of  high-school  Fresh- 
men who  are  engaged  in  manual  labor  are  promoted  to  managerial 
positions  or  go  into  business  for  themselves  as  proprietors  during  the 
succeeding  three  years,  the  students  in  the  Senior  year  whose  fathers 
are  engaged  in  the  managerial  occupations  or  as  proprietors  will  show 
an  increased  proportion,  even  though  there  is  no  elimination  whatso- 
ever from  high  school  in  the  meantime.  It  must  be  assumed  of  course 
at  the  same  time  that  an  equal  number  of  fathers  are  not  .demoted  from 
managerial  positions  or  do  not  lose  property,  making  it  necessary  for 
them  to  fall  back  into  the  ranks  of  labor. 


44 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


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PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  PROGRESS  THROUGH  SCHOOL     45 

Fortunately  we  have  at  hand  the  facts  bearing  on  this  question. 
For  the  purpose  of  securing  information  indicating  the  degree  and  nature 
of  the  change  of  occupation  on  the  part  of  parents  during  the  period  of 
high-school  attendance  this  question  was  asked  the  students  in  the  St. 
Louis  high  schools:  "What  was  your  father's  occupation  three  years 
ago?"  The  period  of  three  years  instead  of  four  formed  the  basis  of 
this  question,  because  at  any  particular  moment,  such  as  the  time 
when  our  study  was  made,  the  number  of  years  between  the  Freshman 
and  the  Senior  class  is  exactly  three.  A  tabulation  of  the  facts  for  the 
Senior  year  shows  that  during  the  three  preceding  years  the  fathers  of 
but  nine  students  out  of  a  total  of  1,030  had  advanced  from  the  laboring 
occupations  into  those  five  groups  of  occupations  styled  as  non-laboring 
in  this  study.  During  the  same  period  the  fathers  of  seven  of  these 
students  passed  in  the  other  direction,  from  the  non-laboring  to  the 
laboring  classes.  This  leaves  a  difference  of  less  than  two-tenths  of  i 
per  cent  to  account  for  the  enormous  differences  already  noted  between 
the  Freshman  and  Senior  years.  An  examination  of  the  clerical  occupa- 
tions also  revealed  no  evidence  that  the  proportion  of  this  group  in  the 
several  high-school  years  is  modified  by  either  promotion  or  demotion. 
But  two  clerical  workers  were  promoted  to  managerial  positions,  and  two 
were  demoted  to  clerical  positions  from  the  managerial.  It  seems  that 
the  fathers  of  practically  all  high-school  students  have  reached  that 
point  in  years  where  no  promotion  may  be  expected  to  take  them  out  of 
the  occupational  classes  they  have  reached.  At  this  time  in  life  there  is 
apparently  but  a  small,  a  negligible  chance,  that  a  man  will  change  his 
occupation  sufficiently  to  take  him  from  one  of  these  groups  to  an- 
other. All  of  which  goes  to  show  that  socially  the  student  population  in 
the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  is  highly  selected  as  compared  with 
that  of  the  Freshman  year  or  the  earlier  grades. 


CHAPTER  VII 

PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  CHILDREN  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE  NOT 

IN  HIGH  SCHOOL 

In  order  to  throw  additional  light  on  this  question  of  the  selective 
character  of  the  high  school,  four  groups  of  children  of  high-school  age 
not  in  high  school  were  studied.  Of  these  one  was  in  Seattle  and 
three  in  Bridgeport.  Their  social  character  will  now  be  examined. 

CHILDREN   OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE   AT   WORK  IN   SEATTLE 

Information  regarding  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians 
of  514  children  of  high-school  age  (fourteen  to  seventeen  years  inclusive) 
at  work  in  the  commercial  and  industrial  establishments  of  Seattle  was 
obtained  in  December  of  1919.  These  facts  were  secured  through 
personal  interviews  with  the  children  by  field  workers.  The  two  sexes 
were  almost  equally  well  represented,  there  being  249  girls  and  265  boys. 
Obviously  this  does  not  include  all  of  the  children  of  high-school  age  at 
work  or  not  in  high  school,  but  the  number  is  large  enough  to  be  represen- 
tative. 

Percentage  data  from  this  investigation  are  presented  in  Table 
XVII  in  which  a  comparison  is  made  between  this  group  of  children  of 
high-school  age  at  work  and  the  total  Seattle  high-school  population 
for  which  the  occupational  data  were  obtained.  The  small  group  in 
the  high  school  classified  as  "unknown"  in  previous  tables  and  diagrams 
was  not  recognized  in  the  computation  of  percentages  here. 

A  glance  at  the  table  suffices  to  show  the  profound  differences 
between  the  two  groups.  The  proprietors,  professional  service,  mana- 
gerial service,  clerical  service,  agricultural  service,  artisan-proprietors, 
and  printing  trades  have  better  proportionate  representation  in  the  high 
school  than  out.  This  is  especially  pronounced  for  the  first  four  groups. 
The  favorable  balance  for  the  farmers  and  the  clerical  workers  is  not  so 
marked.  The  printing  trades  have  the  best  record  among  the  labor 
groups,  but  the  number  of  cases  is  so  small  that  the  conclusions  drawn 
should  not  be  too  rigid.  The  artisan-proprietors  also  make  a  very  good 
showing,  but  the  returns  on  this  group  are  so  subject  to  error  because  of 
insufficient  data  that  the  comparison  certainly  does  not  represent  the 
actual  situation.  On  the  other  hand,  the  laboring  groups,  as  a  rule, 

46 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  CHILDREN  NOT  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL    47 


appear  in  a  rather  poor  light.  Taken  together  and  excluding  the  farmers 
they  account  for  over  75  per  cent  of  the  children  of  high-school  age  at 
work.  Without  doubt  the  poorest  showing  is  that  made  by  common 
labor,  while  the  best  seems  to  be  that  made  by  the  proprietors. 

TABLE  XVII 

PERCENTAGE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  FATHERS  OR  GUARDIANS 

OF  Two  GROUPS  OF  CHILDREN.    DATA  FROM  514  CHILDREN  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL 

AGE  AT  WORK  AND  6,138  CHILDREN  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL,  SEATTLE 


Parental  Occupation 

Children  of  High-School 
Age  at  Work 

Children  in  High 
School 

Proprietors   

2.  5 

17.4 

Professional  service  

4-  1 

II  .4 

Managerial  service  

8.2 

17.  1 

Commercial  service      

2  .  7 

8.7 

Clerical  service  

1.5 

4.6 

Agricultural  service  

•Z  .0 

4-8 

Artisan-proprietors  

.  2 

2.6 

Building  trades  

24.  3 

ii.  8 

Machine  trades  

II  .  I 

7-4 

Printing  trades  

.2 

i  .  i 

Miscellaneous  trades  

C.8 

2.O 

Transportation  service  

o.  c 

5-6 

Public  service  

2.  C 

i.S 

Personal  service        

1.8 

1.6 

Miners,  lumber-  workers,  fishermen  

3-7 

i  .0 

Common  labor  

16.0 

i  .4 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

In  Figure  7  this  comparison  between  the  children  in  high  school  and 
those  outside  is  put  in  graphical  form.  For  each  occupational  group  it 
shows  the  number  of  children  among  those  at  work  for  every  one  hundred 
from  the  same  group  attending  high  school.  It  should  be  remembered, 
however,  that  data  were  secured  from  but  514  children  at  work  which 
is  only  8  per  cent  of  the  number  studied  in  the  high  school.  This 
diagram  speaks  for  itself  in  unmistakable  terms.  The  ratio  ranges  all 
the  way  from  93  for  common  labor  to  i  for  the  proprietors. 

Perhaps  it  is  surprising  to  the  reader  that  the  managerial  and 
professional  occupations  do  have  so  large  a  representation  outside  the 
high  school,  and  it  was  somewhat  of  a  surprise  to  the  writer.  It  is  due  in 
part  to  the  difficulties  of  occupational  classification  already  referred  to. 
At  best,  there  is  a  wide  range  in  each  of  these  groups.  The  major 
portion  of  the  managerial  group  was  made  up  of  foremen  and  people 
holding  relatively  low-grade  positions.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


other  group.  The  designation  musician,  for  instance,  has  a  rather  wide 
range  of  meaning.  Yet,  it  must  be  said,  that  among  the  professional 
occupations  the  clergymen  had  the  largest  representation.  This  may 
be  accounted  for  in  part  on  the  grounds  suggested  above,  since  the 
prophetic  gift,  independent  of  a  thorough  and  rigorous  professional 
preparation,  may  be  regarded  as  sufficient  qualification  for  entry  into 


Common  labor 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Building  trades 

Transportation  service 

Public  service 

Machine  trades 

Personal  service 

Agricultural  service 

Clerical  service 

Managerial  service 

Professional  service 

Commercial  service 

Printing  trades 

Proprietors 

All  occupations 


Number 
o                 30                  60                 go 

(93) 
(32) 

(25) 

-      1 

— 

; 

(17) 

mmm 

(14) 

mtm    • 

(14) 

mm 

(13) 

mm 

(9) 

m§ 

(7) 

m 

(6) 

m 

(4) 

• 

(3) 

i 

(3) 

i 

(2) 

i 

(i) 

(8) 

• 

FIG.  7. — Showing  the  number  of  children  from  each  occupational  group  among 
children  of  high-school  age  at  work  for  every  100  children  from  the  same  group  attend- 
ing high  school.  Data  from  6,387  children  in  high  school  and  514  at  work.  Seattle, 
1910-20. 

the  ministry.  There  was  evidence,  however,  to  show  that  in  this  group 
were  several  boys  who  had  run  away  from  home.  This  sort  of  thing 
occurs  in  every  one  of  the  groups,  as  well  as  other  serious  misfortunes, 
such  as  separation  of  parents,  invalidism  or  death  of  the  father. 

THE   BRIDGEPORT  EVENING  HIGH   SCHOOL 

In  Bridgeport  three  groups  were  studied,  not  exhaustively,  but 
sufficiently  to  provide  comparative  data.  As  already  stated,  they  were 
the  evening  high  school,  the  state  trade  school,  and  the  compulsory 
continuation  classes,  the  latter  being  maintained  in  the  evening  for 
children  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age  who  have  left  school  with- 
out having  completed  the  elementary  school. 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  CHILDREN  NOT  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL    49 


The  students  in  the  evening  high  school  constitute  an  interesting 
group,  since,  presumably,  they  are  young  persons  desirous  of  further 
education  who,  because  of  some  misfortune,  are  compelled  to  engage 
in  gainful  employment  during  the  regular  working-day.  They  are 
attending  school  during  the  hours  which  most  young  people  use  for 
recreation  and  entertainment.  This  speaks  well  for  their  moral  qualities. 

Per  Cent 


Machine  trades 
Miscellaneous  trades 
Common  labor 
Building  trades 
Managerial  service 
Proprietors 
Agricultural  service 
Artisan-proprietors 
Commercial  service 
Professional  service 
Transportation  service 
Clerical  service 
Personal  service 
Public  service 
Printing  trades 

Unknown 


(1.6) 


FIG.  8. — Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  243  students 
attending  the  high-school  department  of  the  evening  school.  Bridgeport,  December, 
1920. 

The  enrolment  in  this  school  is  approximately  one  thousand.  It  is 
a  somewhat  heterogeneous  group,  including  a  few  students  who  are 
high-school  graduates  as  well  as  great  numbers  of  persons  well  beyond 
the  high-school  age.  They  are  registered  not  only  in  the  high-school  de- 
partment, which  provides  a  sequence  and  variety  of  courses  comparable 
to  the  course  of  study  of  the  regular  day  high  school,  but  also  in  special 
courses  and  subjects  of  considerable  diversity.  The  243  students  whose 
records  are  used  in  this  study  were  enrolled  in  the  high-school  depart- 
ment, were  not  high-school  graduates,  and  were  all  twenty-one  years  of 
age  or  under.  Of  these  147  were  girls  and  96  were  boys.  The  median 
age  of  the  girls  was  17.9;  that  of  the  boys,  18.6;  and  that  of  the  two 
sexes  combined,  18.2.  Thus  we  have  a  group,  slightly  older  than  the 
regular  high-school  population,  yet  comparable  to  it  in  most  respects. 


SO  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

Figure  8  shows  the  occupational  distribution  of  the  fathers  of  these 
243  young  people.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  four  leading  groups  are 
labor  groups,  with  common  labor  occupying  the  third  place.  A  re- 
examination  of  Table  IX,  portraying  the  social  composition  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  day  high  school,  is  of  interest  here.  It  is  clear  that  the  two 
populations  are  very  different.  In  the  high  school  the  proprietors  and 
the  managerial  occupations  are  in  first  and  second  places,  whereas 
in  the  evening  high  school  they  hold  sixth  and  fifth  places  respectively. 
This  excellent  representation  of  certain  of  the  labor  groups  apparently 
indicates  the  existence  of  many  young  people  among  them  who  are 
ambitious  for  larger  educational  opportunities. 

THE   STATE   TRADE   SCHOOL   AT   BRIDGEPORT 

The  trade  school  at  Bridgeport  is  supported  and  administered  by  the 
state  of  Connecticut  under  the  provisions  of  the  Smith-Hughes  Act.  Its 
purpose  is  therefore  intensely  practical  and  it  aims  to  turn  out  efficient 
workmen  with  only  as  much  theory  as  is  necessary  to  serve  this  purpose. 
It  does  this  by  providing  a  4,8oo-hour  course  in  each  of  fifteen  trades, 
covering  a  period  of  two  years  and  organized  on  the  regular  eight-hour 
basis  now  common  in  industry.  There  is  no  official  connection  with  the 
city  schools,  although  recently  there  has  been  inaugurated  a  co-operative 
course  in  industrial  arts  in  which  the  academic  training  is  given  in  the 
city  high  school  and  the  trade  training  in  the  trade  school.  But  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  school  points  very  definitely  into 
industry  and  those  who  enter  it  have  renounced  all  intention  of  pursuing 
a  higher  education. 

The  school  has  a  registration  of  approximately  400  students  of 
which  the  great  majority  are  boys.  The  information  card  was  filled 
out  by  198  students  of  whom  129  were  in  the  first  year  and  69  in  the 
second ;  14  were  girls  and  1 84  were  boys.  The  returns  were  not  complete 
because  many  of  the  boys  were  only  half-time  students  and  others  were 
out  on  project  work.  Then,  too,  a  portion  of  the  enrolment  was  composed 
of  soldiers  who  were  far  beyond  the  high-school  age.  Records  from  this 
group  were  not  wanted.  However,  there  is  no  reason  for  believing  that 
the  group  studied  is  not -representative  of  the  trade-school  population 
generally. 

Figure  9  shows  the  occupational  distribution  of  the  fathers  of  these 
198  students.  The  same  four  great  labor  groups  lead  here  as  in  the 
evening  high  school,  except  that  common  labor  has  forged  ahead  of  the 
miscellaneous  trades.  On  the  whole,  the  labor  group?  are  somewhat 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  CHILDREN  NOT  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL     51 

better  represented  in  the  trade  school  than  in  the  evening  high  school, 
while  it  naturally  follows  that  the  reverse  is  true  for  the  non-labor 
groups.  And  a  comparison  of  the  trade  school  with  the  regular  day  high 
school  shows  two  markedly  different  groups  of  children  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  population  sources  from  which  they  come.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  54.7  per  cent  of  the  students  in  the  high  school  come  from  the  five 
non-labor  groups  (proprietors,  professional,  managerial,  commercial,  and 

Per  Cent  » 


Machine  trades 

Common  labor 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Building  trades 

Managerial  service 

Proprietors 

Agricultural  service 

Artisan-proprietors 

Personal  service 

Transportation  service 

Clerical  service 

Commercial  service 

Printing  trades 

Professional  service 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen 

Public  service 

Unknown 


(1.0) 


FIG.  9. — Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  198  students 
in  the  state  trade  school.     Bridgeport,  February,  1921. 

clerical  occupations),  while  but  17.7  per  cent  of  the  trade-school  students 
come  from  these  same  five  occupational  classes. 


THE   COMPULSORY  CONTINUATION   CLASSES   OF  BRIDGEPORT 

In  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  of  the  Bridgeport  evening 
school  is  found  a  most  interesting  group  of  children  for  the  student  of 
education.  Many  of  the  "problems"  of  elementary  education  are  found 
in  these  classes.  As  already  intimated,  Connecticut  has  a  state  law 
that  compels  children  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age  who  have 
left  school  without  completing  the  grades,  to  attend  these  evening 
classes  until  they  either  reach  their  sixteenth  birthday  or  complete  the 


52  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER, OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

eighth  grade.  There  are  consequently  gathered  into  these  classes  great 
numbers  of  children  unfortunate  either  by  nature  or  by  nurture.  Here 
are  the  misfits,  the  children  who  cannot  "get  on"  in  the  elementary 
school,  those  who  have  been  educationally  discouraged,  those  whose 
schooling  has  been  interrupted  in  one  way  or  another,  children  whose 
homes  lack  the  educational  stimulus,  children  who  have  no  homes. 
About  these  children  one  thing  is  certain.  It  is  this:  Practically  none 
of  them  will  ever  attend  high  school.  They  are  a  sampling  of  that 
great  group  of  children  still  to  be  found  in  our  cities  and  towns  for  whom 
the  high  school  simply  does  not  exist.  At  best,  it  is  nothing  more  than 
a  name  to  them.  And  it  is  for  this  reason  particularly  that  they  are 
introduced  into  this  study. 

There  are  probably  about  a  thousand  children  enrolled  in  these 
classes  which  meet  at  those  school  buildings  which  are  conveniently 
located.  But  the  attendance  is  very  irregular  and  the  composition  of 
the  classes  is  continually  changing  because  of  the  admission  of  new 
recruits  from  the  elementary  school  and  the  mustering  out  of  individual 
after  individual  following  the  sixteenth  birthday.  It  should  be  pointed 
out,  however,  that  a  significant  number  do  remain  after  they  reach 
this  age. 

Sociological  data  were  obtained  from  579  children  in  these  classes, 
305  girls  and  274  boys,  which  included  practically  all  those  in  attendance 
on  the  evening  the  cards  were  passed  out.  As  might  be  expected,  many 
of  the  cards  were  incompletely  filled  out.  Where  the  information 
missing  was  important  the  cards  were  sent  back  and  the  facts  especially 
desired  were  secured  in  this  way  in  most  cases.  The  final  result  is 
fairly  satisfactory  for  purposes  of  this  study. 

Figure  10  gives  a  good  picture  of  the  social  composition  of  this 
group  of  children.  The  representation  of  the  five  non-labor  groups  has 
shrunk  to  10.3  per  cent,  and  over  half  of  these  are  found  in  the  mana- 
gerial service  alone.  Most  of  them  are  labor  foremen.  The  fathers  of 
more  than  one-fourth  (26.6)  of  the  579  children  are  common  laborers, 
whereas  but  1.7  per  cent  of  the  children  in  the  high  school  come  from 
this  occupational  group. 

What  amounts  to  a  summary  of  the  situation  found  in  Bridgeport  is 
given  in  Figure  n.  Here  a  comparison  is  drawn  between  the  high-school 
population,  on  the  one  hand,  and  these  three  groups  of  non-high-school 
children  combined,  on  the  other.  The  bars  represent  for  each  occupa- 
tional class  the  number  of  children  in  the  latter  for  every  one  hundred  in 
the  former.  The  tremendous  difference  between  common  labor  and  all 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  CHILDREN  NOT  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL    53 

Per  Cent 
o  5  10  15  20  25 


Common  labor               (26.6) 

Machine  trades              (23.0) 

Miscellaneous  trades      (16.3) 
Building  trades                (8.6) 

— 

•^ 

Managerial  service           (5.3) 

—  — 

1 

Artisan-proprietors          (4.3) 

•••• 

Transportation  service     (4.0) 

•••• 

Personal  service               (2.5) 

•• 

Clerical  service                 (1.7) 

• 

Proprietors                       (1.4) 

• 

Commercial  service          (i.a) 

• 

Agricultural  service           (.9) 

• 

Professional  service           (.7) 

I 

Printing  trades                   (.3) 

1 

Public  service                     (.2) 

Unknown                          (4  o) 

"• 

FIG.  10. — Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  579  children 
attending  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  of  the  evening  school.  Bridgeport, 
December,  1920. 

o  200  400  600 


~ 

Common  labor                (S7i) 
Miscellaneous  trades       (109) 

Building  trades                 (82) 

•• 

Machine  trades                 (72) 

IB 

Printing  trades                  (71) 

wm 

Agricultural  service           (57) 

• 

Personal  service                (50) 

• 

Transportation  service      (46) 

• 

Artisan-proprietors           (42) 

• 

Managerial  service            (18) 

Clerical  service                  (16) 

Commercial  service           (n) 

Public  service                      (o) 

Professional  service             (9) 

Proprietors                          (8) 

All  occupations                 (45) 

• 

FIG.  ii. — Showing  the  number  of  children  from  each  occupational  group  among 
children  of  high-school  age  not  in  high  school  (evening  high  school,  trade  school,  and 
compulsory  continuation  classes)  for  every  100  students  from  the  same  group  attend- 
ing the  regular  day  high  school.  Data  from  2,257  children  in  high  school  and  1,020 
in  the  other  three  groups.  Bridgeport,  1920-21. 


54  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

the  other  groups  is  striking.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  the  labor  groups 
occupy  relatively  unfavorable  positions,  except  the  workers  in  public 
service,  who  are  found  in  third  place.  Too  much  weight,  however, 
should  not  be  attached  to  this  exception  because  of  the  small  number 
of  cases  involved. 

In  concluding  this  chapter,  the  reader's  attention  should  be  called  to 
the  similarity  of  the  results  obtained  in  Seattle  and  Bridgeport.  It  is 
clear  that  these  groups  of  children  of  high-school  age  outside  the  regular 
high  school  are  very  different  in  social  composition  from  the  high-school 
population  itself.  The  several  occupational  groups  apparently  arrange 
themselves  in  a  graded  series,  with  the  proprietors  and  professional 
service  at  one  end,  and  common  labor  at  the  other. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 

In  response  to  the  growing  social  demand  for  an  enriched  course  of 
study  the  public  high  school  has  made  many  curriculum  changes,  partic- 
ularly since  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century.  Among  them  is  the 
organization  of  several  curricula,  each  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  some 
portion  of  the  high-school  population.  Those  who  have  been  strong 
advocates  of  these  adjustments  have  maintained  that  the  single  curric- 
ulum, pointing  toward  the  higher  education,  is  inadequate  and  involves 
an  injustice  to  great  masses  of  young  people  who  cannot  possibly  go  on 
to  college.  It  will  be  interesting  to  see  how  children  coming  from  the 
various  occupational  groups  react  to  this  complex  program. 

In  each  of  the  cities  studied  several  different  curricula  are 
offered  the  students  in  its  high  schools.  If  all  four  cities  offered  the 
same  curricula,  it  would  be  possible  and  desirable  to  discuss  these 
curricula  seriatim,  bringing  to  bear  on  each  curriculum  the  facts  from 
all  the  cities.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  Each  city  has  organized  its 
high-school  course  of  study  to  suit  itself,  within  certain  limitations  set 
by  college-entrance  requirements.  Consequently  the  relation  between 
parental  occupation  and  course  of  study  will  be  studied  in  each  of  the 
cities  separately. 

BRIDGEPORT 

In  the  Bridgeport  High  School  six  curricula  are  offered  the  students. 
These  are  the  college  preparatory,  scientific,  general,  normal,  com- 
mercial, and  industrial  arts  courses.  Since  the  normal  course  is  exclu- 
sively for  girls  and  the  industrial  arts  strictly  for  boys,  this  means  five 
curricula  for  each  sex.  As  will  be  noted  later,  however,  several  of  these 
courses  receive  very  light  patronage. 

Space  will  not  permit  a  detailed  description  of  each  curriculum,  and 
perhaps  such  a  description  is  quite  unnecessary,  since  the  general  content 
of  most  of  them  is  familiar  to  anyone  acquainted  with  the  American 
public  high  school.  The  following  brief  characterization  taken  from  the 
high-school  circular  to  parents  will  have  to  suffice. 

I.  The  college  preparatory  course  prepares  for  the  best  colleges  and 
universities  as  well  as  for  the  law  and  medical  preparatory  courses. 

55 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


It  stresses  the  traditional  academic  subjects  with  special  emphasis  on 
the  languages. 

II.  The  scientific  preparatory  course  prepares  for  the  best  scientific 
and  technical  schools  in  the  country.     It  differs  from  the  college  prepara- 
tory course  merely  in  a  larger  provision  for  the  study  of  science  and 
mathematics  at  the  expense  of  the  languages. 

III.  The  general  course  is  designed  to  offer  a  broad  and  practical 
education  to  those  who  are  not  preparing  for  a  college  or  a  scientific 
school.     Subject  to  the  approval  of  the  principal,  the  student  is  allowed 
extensive  privileges  of  election. 

IV.  The  normal  course  prepares  students  for  the  city  normal  school 
and  offers  a  well-rounded  and  practical  course  with  definite  requirements 
for  girls  who  are  preparing  for  the  important  work  of  teaching. 

V.  The  commercial  course  prepares  rather  definitely  for  clerical 
positions  with  the  usual  offerings  in  the  special  subjects. 

VI.  The  industrial  arts  course  is  conducted  through  co-operation 
with  the  state  trade  school  in  which  the  shopwork  is  given.     The  course 
is  either  three  or  four  years  in  length  and  is  intended  to  tram  for  the 
manufacturing  and  mechanical  trades. 

TABLE  XVIII 

SELECTION  OF  CURRICULA  BY  CHILDREN  FROM  THE  VARIOUS  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS, 
BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL,  ALL  CLASSES 


Gi 

ULS 

Be 

YS 

PARENTAL 
OCCUPATION 

1 

3 

Normal 

Commercial 

1 

3 

Scientific 

I 

V 

$ 

3 

Industrial 

Commercial 

General 

Scientific 

3 
£ 

Proprietors    

88 

57 

81 

2 

229 

105 

4 

20 

6 

8? 

222 

Professional  service  

4° 

ii 

17 

2 

7O 

2? 

2 

2 

i 

37 

67 

Managerial  service    

?o 

74 

02 

6 

211 

36 

12 

ig 

12 

95 

174. 

Commercial  service  

26 

18 

36 

2 

82 

31 

I 

15 

I 

3^ 

8l 

Clerical  service  

n 

16 

33 

3 

63 

IO 

I 

16 

35 

Agricultural  service  

7 

8 

15 

2 

?2 

I 

3 

5 

3 

5 

17 

Artisan-proprietors  

5 

16 

42 

f>3 

21 

I 

s 

20 

48 

Building  trades  

3 

ig 

37 

60 

15 

2 

g 

28 

56 

Machine  trades  

8 

45 

in 

168 

41 

IO 

24 

69 

150 

Printing  trades  

i 

2 

* 

2 

I 

I 

4 

Miscellaneous  trades  

6 

*3 

51 

87 

26 

4 

6 

ig 

<7 

Transportation  service  

2 

14 

23 

39 

12 

i 

9 

14 

3* 

Public  service  

5 

10 

21 

36 

5 

7 

8 

21 

Personal  service  

i 

6 

2O 

27 

s 

i 

6 

12 

25 

Common  labor  

3 

14 

16 

4 

2 

g 

6 

22 

Unknown  

8 

13 

18 

39 

3 

3 

IO 

2O 

Total  

250 

613 

47 

148 

39 

1,037 

An  examination  of  Table  XVIII  shows  very  few  girls  taking  either 
the  general  or  the  scientific  curriculum.     Likewise,  the  number  of  boys 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 


57 


in  either  the  general  or  industrial  arts  course  is  small.  This  leaves  but 
three  courses  each  for  the  boys  and  girls. 

The  table  reveals  no  pronounced  tendency  for  the  selection  of 
courses  among  the  boys  to  fall  along  occupational  lines.  Each  of  the 
three  courses  has  a  fairly  good  representation  from  all  of  the  larger 
groups.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  so  far  as  outlook  is 
concerned,  there  is  but  little  difference  between  the  college  and  the 
scientific  curricula. 

Among  the  girls,  on  the  other  hand,  a  very  different  situation  is 
found.  The  girls  from  the  several  occupational  groups  do  show  tendencies 


College 


Per  Cent 

50 


Commercial 
75  ioo 


Professional  service 
Proprietors 
Commercial  service 
Agricultural  service 
Managerial  service 
Clerical  service 
Public  service 
Artisan-proprietors 
Miscellaneous  trades 
Transportation  service 
Building  trades 
Machine  trades 
Personal  service 
Common  labor 

All  occupations 


(S7.i)-(24-3) 


(3i-7)-(43.9) 

(2I.8M46.9) 

(I8.5M43.6) 

(i7-4)~(52-4) 

(I3.0M58-3) 

(7.9M66.7) 

(7.3M62.J) 


(S-oH6i.7) 

U.8H66.I) 

(3.7M74-I) 

(oH87.5) 

(20.5M50.2) 


FIG.  12. — Showing  the  percentage  of  girls  from  each  occupational  group  pursuing 
the  college  preparatory  and  commercial  curricula,  Bridgeport  High  School. 


to  gravitate  toward  certain  courses.  This  is  clearly  brought  out  in 
Figure  12  and  Figure  13.  In  the  former  the  percentage  of  students 
from  each  of  these  groups  taking  the  college  preparatory  course  is 
compared  with  the  percentage  in  the  commercial  course.  At  the  one 
extreme  are  the  girls  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  the  professional 
occupations,  with  57.1  per  cent  in  the  college  course  and  but  24.3 
per  cent  in  the  commercial.  At  the  other  is  the  common  labor  group 
with  not  a  single  girl  in  the  former  course  and  87.5  per  cent  in  the 
latter. 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


In  Figure  13  the  social  composition  of  the  entire  group  of  girls 
pursuing  the  college  preparatory  curriculum  in  all  four  years  is  given. 
It  shows  in  a  striking  way  the  class-character  of  this  course.  The  first 
five  groups,  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  strictly  non-labor  groups, 
include  81.6  per  cent  of  the  total.  Of  the  remaining  18.4  per  cent,  2.8 
are  from  the  agricultural  occupations;  2.0  from  the  artisan-proprietors; 
and  3.2  from  fathers  of  unknown  occupation.  There  remain  but  10.4 
per  cent  of  these  girls  to  represent  the  manual-labor  groups.  This 

Per  Cent 


Proprietors 
Professional  service 
Managerial  service 
Commercial  service 
Clerical  service 
Machine  trades 
Agricultural  service 
Miscellaneous  trades 
Artisan-proprietors 
Public  service 
Building  trades 
Transportation  service 
Printing  trades 
Personal  service 
Common  labor 
Unknown 


/•  _   _\ 

(35-2; 

(,/;  _\ 

dS.6)  l^-— 

(10.4) 

— 

1 

(4-4) 

•• 

(3-2) 

• 

(2.8) 

• 

(2.4) 

• 

(2.0) 

• 

(2.0) 

• 

(1.2) 

• 

(.8) 

1 

(-4) 

1 

(.4) 

1 

(o) 

(3-2) 

" 

FIG.  13. — Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  the  250 
girls  pursuing  the  college  preparatory  course  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School. 

tendency  is  yet  more  pronounced  in  the  Senior  year  where  88.1  per  cent 
come  from  the  five  non-labor  groups  and  but  2.4  per  cent  from  the 
labor  groups. 

MT.   VERNON 

On  a  small  scale  Mt.  Vernon  is  experimenting  with  the  specialized 
high  school.  There  are  two  separate  school  buildings.  In  the  one, 
known  as  the  Academic  High  School,  are  taught  the  classical,  scientific, 
and  general  curricula;  while  in  the  other,  a  vocational  school,  the 
commercial  and  practical  arts  curricula  are  offered.  The  situation  here 
is  of  especial  interest  to  us  because  in  the  other  three  cities  studied  the 
high  school  is  of  the  general  type.  Exception  might  be  taken  to  this 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  59 

statement  in  its  application  to  Bridgeport,  for,  although  there  is  bufc  one 
high  school  supported  by  the  city,  the  state  of  Connecticut  maintains 
a  trade  school  there  that  enrols  children  of  high-school  age.  It  might, 
therefore,  be  maintained  that  in  this  city  there  are  really  two  secondary 
schools,  in  one  of  which  are  taught  the  academic  subjects;  in  the  other, 
the  practical  arts. 

In  all,  six  curricula  are  offered,  five  for  the  boys  and  five  for  the  girls. 
Of  these,  three  are  academic  and  three  vocational.  To  the  former 
belong  the  classical,  scientific,  and  general;  and  to  the  latter,  the  com- 
mercial, industrial  arts,  and  household  arts  courses.  The  vocational 
curricula  are  so  organized  as  to  make  possible  the  granting  of  certificates 
for  short  units  of  work.  A  short  description  of  each  course  follows. 

I.  The  classical  course  is  designed  to  meet  the  entrance  requirements 
of  college  courses  leading  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.     Its  dis- 
tinctive feature  is  the  requirement  of  three  years  of  Latin  and  three 
years  of  either  Greek,  French,  or  Spanish. 

II.  The  scientific  course  prepares  for  college  courses  leading  to  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science,  as  well  as  for  engineering  and  technical 
schools.     It  consists  of  about  equal  parts  of  English,  foreign  languages, 
mathematics,  and  science. 

III.  The  general  course  is  rather  elastic  in  its  provisions  and  is 
organized  to  meet  the  needs  of  two  classes  of  students:  (i)  those  intend- 
ing to  enter  a  normal  or  training-school  for  teachers;  and  (2)  those  who 
will  leave  school  at  the  end  of  the  high-school  course.     The  subjects, 
however,  are  all  from  the  traditional  academic  offering. 

IV.  The  commercial  course  includes  the  usual  clerical  and  commercial 
branches,  English,  a  little  science  and  mathematics,  and  some  provision 
for  electives.     It  points  toward  wage-earning  in  the  clerical  occupations. 

V.  The  industrial  arts  course  prepares  in  a  general  way  for  industrial 
pursuits.     It  is  organized  under  a  liberal  elective  system  with  the  single 
restriction  that  seven-twelfths  of  the  time  be  given  to  subjects  of  an 
academic  character  and  the  remainder  to  industrial  branches,  including 
joinery  and  wood-turning,  printing,  machine-shop  practice,  etc. 

VI.  The  household  arts  course,  pointing  toward  homemaking,   is 
organized  according  to  the  same  principles  as  the  course  immediately 
preceding. 

Facts  showing  the  selection  of  curricula  by  the  students  from  the 
various  occupational  groups  are  presented  in  Table  XDC.  Because  of 
the  small  number  of  cases  representing  certain  of  the  occupations,  the 
data  for  the  boys  and  girls  are  combined  in  a  single  table.  For  a  similar 


60  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

reason  the  industrial  arts  and  household  arts  curricula  are  brought 
together  under  the  more  general  caption  of  "practical  arts."  This 
table  gives  for  each  occupational  group  the  actual  number  and  the 
percentage  of  students  pursuing  each  of  the  curricula.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  the  great  popularity  of  the  classical  course.  Each  of  the  curricula 
is  well  patronized  except  the  practical  arts  course. 

An  examination  of  that  half  of  the  table  giving  the  percentage  of 
students  from  each  group  enrolled  in  each  curriculum  reveals  tendencies 
of  the  order  already  noted  in  Bridgeport.  If  we  take  any  one  of  the 
curricula  we  find  a  wide  range  in  the  emphasis  given  to  it  by  children 
from  the  different  occupations.  Of  course,  in  making  these  observations, 
too  much  weight  should  not  be  attached  to  the  distribution  for  the 
occupations  represented  by  very  smaU  numbers  of  students,  such  as  the 
printing  trades,  personal  service,  public  service,  and  the  miners,  lumber- 
workers,  and  fishermen.  The  curricula  presenting  the  widest  range 
are  the  classical  and  commercial  courses.  .  Fifty-eight  per  cent  of  the 
students  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  professional  service  are  taking 
the  classical  course,  while  but  5  per  cent  of  the  children  of  common 
laborers  are  pursuing  this  course.  For  the  commercial  course,  this 
range  is  from  62  per  cent  for  transportation  service  to  9  per  cent  for 
professional  service.  The  range  is  not  so  large  for  the  other  three 
curricula,  but  it  is  considerable  and  large  enough  to  be  significant. 
As  a  general  thing,  the  scientific  and  general  courses  are  patronized  in 
greater  proportion  by  the  non-labor  groups,  while  the  reverse  is  true 
for  the  practical  arts  course. 

Since  the  Mt.  Vernon  High  School  system  consists  of  an  academic 
and  a  vocational  school,  it  is  of  interest  to  note  the  differences  in  the 
social  composition  of  the  students  attending  the  two  institutions.  This 
is  easily  done  by  combining  the  data  for  the  three  academic  curricula, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  for  the  two  vocational  curricula  on  the  other, 
as  presented  in  Table  XFX.  The  results  of  this  process,  followed  by  a 
reduction  to  percentages,  are  given  in  Table  XX.  A  glance  at  this 
table  makes  it  clear  that  these  two  high  schools  are  appealing  to  different 
elements  in  the  population.  It  seems  that  the  children  of  laborers 
who  do  go  to  high  school  attend  the  vocational  school  almost  altogether. 
To  be  sure,  the  non-labor  groups  also  send  a  reasonable  proportion  of 
their  children  to  this  school  but  they  exhibit  a  strong  inclination  to  favor 
the  academic  school.  They  supply  84.6  per  cent  of  the  students  in  the 
latter  and  but  47.1  per  cent  of  those  in  the  former. 


6i 


TABLE  XIX 

NUMBER  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  PUR- 
SUING EACH  OF  THE  FIVE  CURRICULA.   BOYS  AND  GIRLS  COMBINED. 
MT.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOL 


PARENTAL 
OCCUPATION 

NUKBEK 

PERCENTAGE 

"3 

J 
u 

j 

1 

• 

$ 

V 

i 

§ 
"3 

1 
fe 

! 

i 

O 

"3 
3 

"3 

1 

0 

•a 

c 
.Si 
*o 
t/j 

~& 

V 

a 

V 
O 

< 

"3 

IX, 

V 

1 

O 

"3 
£ 

Proprietors    

143 

74 
78 
47 
20 
I 
18 
8 

3 

i 

40 

18 
26 
16 
9 

i 
5 
4 

i 
i 

66 

22 

45 
39 
IS 

I 
13 
3 
3 

I 

3 
3 
4 

2 
2 

3 

I 
10 
4 

52 
ii 

28 

18 

21 

5 
19 
32 
14 
I 
16 
16 
S 
3 

I 

304 
128 
181 

122 
6? 
II 

50 
57 
25 
4 
32 
26 

I 

I 

47 
S» 
43 
39 
30 
9 
32 
14 
12 
25 
28 
15 
II 

13 
14 
14 
13 
13 
9 
9 
7 
4 
25 

22 
J7 

25 

32 
23 

9 
23 

5 

12 

25 

13 

IS 

i 

2 

2 
2 

2§ 

2 

18 
16 

17 
9 
16 
14 
31 
45 
34 
56 
56 
25 
SO 
62 
56 
SO 

100 

SO 

30 

88888888888888  888  8 

Professional  service  

Commercial  service  

Clerical  service  

Agricultural  service  

Artisan-proprietors  

Building  trades  

Machine  trades  

Printing  trades  

Miscellaneous  trades  

9 

4 
I 

i 

2 

4 
4 

2 

3 

I 

6 

Transportation  service  
Public  service  

33 
17 

Personal  service  

2 

33 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  .  . 
fishermen    

Common  labor  

I 
II 

2 

5 

I 
9 

5 
I 

9 
II 

18 

37 

5 
30 

ii 
13 

6 

24 

28 
3 

Unknown  

Total  

419 

131 

228 

44 

262 

1,084 

39 

12 

21 

4 

24 

TABLE  XX 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  IN  EACH  OF  THE  MT.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOLS  COMING 
FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP 


Parental  Occupation 

Academic  High  School 

Vocational  High  School 

Proprietors   

32  o 

18  O 

Professional  service  

14  7 

4  6 

Managerial  service  

IQ.2 

IO    ^ 

Commercial  service  

13.  1 

6  ? 

Clerical  service  

"5.6 

7    ^ 

Artisan-proprietors  

4.6 

6  ? 

Agricultural  service  

.4 

2    6 

Building  trades  

I  .Q 

13.8 

Machine  trades  

.0 

e    Q 

Printing  trades  

.4 

2 

Miscellaneous  trades  

1.8 

e    Q 

Transportation  service  

I  .  2 

c    2 

Public  service    

.  I 

2    6 

Personal  service  .                                   

.  7 

I    3 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen     .    .  . 

o 

Common  labor  

.  e 

4  6 

Unknown  

3.2 

2     O 

Total   

IOO.O 

IOO   O 

62 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


In  Figure  14  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  measure  the  relative 
attractiveness  of  the  two  schools  to  the  several  occupational  divisions. 
It  is  based  on  the  number  of  children  in  the  vocational  school  for  every 
one  hundred  from  the  same  group  in  the  academic  school.  In  order  to  get 
numbers  sufficiently  large  to  insure  reliability,  several  of  the  labor 
groups  were  combined,  as  indicated  in  the  diagram.  The  difference 
between  the  two  extremes  is  indeed  striking.  The  proportion  of  children 


Common  labor  (35°) 
Transportation,  public  and  personal  service    (223) 

Manufacturing  and  mechanical  trades  (203) 

Artisan-proprietors  (56) 

Clerical  service  (52) 

Proprietors  (22) 

Managerial  service  (21) 

Commercial  service  (20) 

Professional  service  (12) 


All  occupations 


(39) 


FIG.  14. — Showing  for  each  occupational  group  the  number  of  students  (both 
sexes  and  all  classes)  in  the  vocational  high  school  for  every  100  from  the  same  group 
in  the  academic  high  school.  Data  from  306  students  in  the  former  and  778  in  the 
latter.  Mt.  Vernon. 

from  the  professionals,  the  commercial  workers,  the  managers,  and  the 
proprietors  attending  the  vocational  school  is  very  small.  The  reverse 
is  true  for  the  children  of  the  laboring  classes,  particularly  laborers  of 
the  lower  grades.  The  clerical  workers  and  the  artisan-proprietors 
occupy  an  intermediate  position. 

ST.  LOUIS 

The  course  of  study  in  the  St.  Louis  High  Schools  is  more  complex 
than  that  in  any  of  the  other  cities  studied.  There  are  four-year, 
two-year,  and  one-year  courses.  Altogether,  thirteen  different  curricula 
are  offered,  of  which  two  are  for  girls  exclusively,  three  for  boys  only, 
and  eight  for  both  boys  and  girls.  The  following  descriptive  statements 
adapted  from  the  printed  outlines  distributed  to  the  parents  will  give 
the  reader  some  notion  of  the  character  of  these  curricula: 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY          63 

I.  Four-year  courses. — Seven  four-year  courses  are  offered  with  a 
basic  requirement  of  one  half-year  community  civics,  one  half-year  of 
vocations,  three  or  four  years  of  English,  and  one  or  more  years  of 
history  common  to  all.    These  curricula  with  their  distinctive  features 
are: 

1.  General  course. — One  or  more  years  of  science  and  other  subjects 
to  be  chosen  from  specified  lists  for  each  half-year.    In  the  third 
and  fourth  years  of  this  course,  there  is  a  wide  election  offered, 
including  units  peculiar  to  other  courses. 

2.  Scientific  course. — Four  years  of  mathematics;    four  years  of 
science;  two  or  three  years  of  a  foreign  language. 

3.  Classical  course. — Four  years  of  Latin;   two  or  three  years  of  one 
other  foreign  language,  if  elected;    one,  two,  or  three  years  of 
mathematics,  if  elected;  one  or  two  years  of  science. 

4.  Fine-arts  course. — Four  years  of  art  or  music;  one  or  more  years 
of  science;  one  or  more  years  of  mathematics,  if  elected;  two  or 
more  years  of  a  foreign  language,  if  elected. 

5.  Manual  training  course. — Three  or  four  years  of  manual  training; 
three  or  four  years  of  mechanical  drawing;  two,  three,  or  four  years 
of  mathematics;  one,  two,  or  three  years  of  science;  two  years  of 
a  foreign  language,  if  elected. 

6.  Home  economics  course. — Four  years  of  household  arts;   three  or 
four  years  of  science;   one,  two,  or  three  years  of  mathematics, 
if  elected;  and  two  or  three  years  of  a  foreign  language,  if  elected. 

7.  Commercial  course. — Four  years  of  commercial  branches  grouped 
in  sequence;  one,  two,  or  three  years  of  mathematics,  if  elected; 
one,  two,  or  three  years  of  science;  two  or  three  years  of  a  foreign 

language,  if  elected. 

• 

II.  Two-  and  one-year  vocational  courses. — Four  two-year  and  two 
one-year  vocational  courses  are  offered.    Very  little  academic  material 
is  included  in  these  curricula.    They  are  as  follows: 

1.  Two-year  manual  training  course. — Joinery,    turning,   pattern- 
making,  forging,  tool-making,  machine-shop  practice,  mechanical 
drawing,  English,  mathematics,  and  physics. 

2.  Two-year    home    economics    course. — Household    arts,    English, 
botany,  physiology,  and  chemistry. 

3.  Two-year  commercial  course. — Business  English,  commercial  arith- 
metic, civics,  commercial  geography,  penmanship,  bookkeeping, 
stenography,  typewriting,  and  spelling. 


64  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

4.  Two-year  vocational  course  in  printing. — Printing,  shop  practice, 
English,    drawing,    civics,    vocations,    industrial    history,    shop 
mathematics. 

5.  One-year    bookkeeping    course. — Business    English,    commercial 
arithmetic,  penmanship,  spelling,  bookkeeping,  and  typewriting. 

6.  One-year  stenographic  course. — Business  English,  spelling,  stenog- 
raphy, and  typewriting. 

The  number  of  children  from  each  of  the  occupational  groups 
pursuing  each  of  the  curricula  is  given  in  Table  XXI  for  the  entire  high- 
school  population.  Separate  data  for  the  boys  and  girls  are  presented. 
For  convenience,  since  the  number  taking  either  course  is  small,  the 
one-year  bookkeeping  course  and  the  one-year  stenographic  course  are 
combined  under  the  "one-year  commercial  course."  A  glance  at  the 
totals  shows  practically  all  the  girls  enrolled  in  four  curricula,  namely,  the 
general,  four-year  commercial,  four-year  home  economics,  and  two-year 
commercial.  Likewise,  almost  90  per  cent  of  the  boys  are  found  in  the 
general,  scientific,  four-year  commercial,  and  four-year  manual  training 
courses.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  status  of  the  classical  course  with 
its  67  boys  and  girls,  a  mere  vestige  that  tells  very  little  of  its  glorious 
past.  This  curriculum  has  undoubtedly  seen  better  days.  Several  of 
the  short  vocational  courses  have  not,  as  yet  at  least,  gripped  the  atten- 
tion of  children  of  high-school  age.  With  the  other  curricula  offered 
it  is  clear  that  St.  Louis  is  offering  its  children  an  enriched  high-school 
curriculum. 

Let  us  see  how  the  boys  and  girls  representing  the  different  social 
groups  react  to  this  diversity  of  curricular  opportunity.  A  careful 
examination  shows  practically  the  same  tendencies  at  work  here  as  those 
discovered  in  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon.  The  case  is  not  quite  so 
clear,  perhaps,  because  the  lines  between  the  courses  are 'not  so  plain. 
St.  Louis  has  no  curriculum  that  can  be  regarded  strictly  as  college 
preparatory,  unless  it  be  the  little-patronized  classical  course.  Perhaps 
the  general  course  and  the  scientific  course  come  nearest  to  it.  At 
least,  they  do  not  point  out  into  industry. 

Among  the  girls  the  home  economics  course  is  apparently  about 
equally  popular  with  all  the  occupational  groups,  although  some  slight 
tendency  toward  a  greater  proportional  representation  in  this  course  on 
the  part  of  the  non-labor  groups  is  observable.  This  constitutes  some 
evidence  favorable  to  the  contentions  of  certain  critics  of  the  courses 
offered  in  this  field  that  they  do  not  prepare  for  wage-earning.  The 
four-year  commercial  course  attracts  the  daughters  of  the  manual 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 


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SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


laborers  more  than  the  girls  from  other  classes.  But  the  most  significant 
comparison  is  the  one  to  be  drawn  between  the  general  and  the  two-year 
commercial  courses.  In  Table  XXII  this  comparison  is  made.  Here 
is  given  the  percentage  of  the  girls  from  each  of  the  occupational  groups 
found  in  these  two  curricula.  On  the  one  hand,  professional  service 
leads  in  the  general  course  and  takes  last  place  in  the  two-year  com- 
mercial course  with  62.4  per  cent  and  5.9  per  cent  respectively  of  its 

TABLE  XXII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  GIRLS  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  PURSUING  THE  GENERAL 

AND  THE  TWO-YEAR  COMMERCIAL  COURSES,  ST.  Louis  HIGH 

SCHOOLS,  ALL  CLASSES,  DECEMBER,  1920 


Parental  Occupation 

General  Course 

Two-Year  Commercial 
Course 

Professional  service  

62  .4 

e.Q 

Agricultural  service  

S4.  <» 

18.2 

Commercial  service  

<>2  .  3 

14.  3 

Managerial  service  

SO.  7 

ii  8 

Proprietors  

40-6 

II  .2 

Clerical  service  

47.8 

16.1 

Public  service  

A.T.  .Q 

16.7 

Printing  trades  

?8.3 

30.0 

Transportation  service  

32  .Q 

22  .4 

Artisan-proprietors  

28.8 

2C  .7 

Machine  trades  

27.0 

3"\  .  2 

Building  trades  

2<;.  ? 

34-6 

Common  labor  

M.S 

ZI  .2 

Personal  service  

2?  .  C 

34-O 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen  

2?  .O 

^O   O 

Miscellaneous  trades  

2O.4 

A.2  .  I 

All  occupations  

44.  1 

18  <; 

representatives  in  the  two  courses.  On  the  other  hand,  but  20.4  per 
cent  of  the  girls  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  the  miscellaneous  trades 
have  chosen  the  first  course;  and  51.2  per  cent  of  the  daughters  of 
common  laborers  are  pursuing  the  second.  The  other  groups  fall  in 
between  these  two  extremes,  with  the  non-labor  groups  inclining  dis- 
proportionately toward  the  general  course  and  the  labor  groups  toward 
the  two-year  commercial  course.  Many  other  interesting  observations 
will  be  made  here  by  the  careful  reader. 

As  in  Bridgeport,  the  boys  appear  to  be  less  influenced  in  their 
choice  of  courses  than  the  girls  by  the  social  groups  from  which  they 
come.  An  examination  of  Table  XXI  shows  the  labor  groups  somewhat 
better  represented  in  the  commercial  and  manual  training  courses  than 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 


the  other  groups,  but  only  slightly  so.  This  may  mean  that  the  outlook 
from  the  four  courses,  in  which  most  of  the  boys  are  enrolled,  is,  after  all, 
very  much  the  same.  The  commercial  course  for  the  girls  probably 
means  preparation  for  a  clerical  position  to  be  entered  upon  immediately 
after  leaving  school,  whereas  the  same  course  taken  by  a  boy  may  mean, 
particularly  in  the  Middle  West,  college  preparation.  Data  secured 
in  response  to  the  question  about  expectations  following  graduation 
suggest  this  conclusion.  More  evidence  appears  in  Figure  15  in 


Common  labor 
Personal  service 
Building  trades 

Machine  trades 

\ 
Transportation  service 

Miscellaneous  trades 
Public  service 
Artisan-proprietors 
Agricultural  service 
Printing  trades 
Managerial  service 
Commercial  service 
Clerical  service 
Proprietors 
Professional  service 

All  occupations 


FIG.  15. — Showing  the  percentage  of  boys  from  each  occupational  group  pursuing 
the  two-  and  one-year  vocational  courses.  St.  Louis  high  schools  (white). 

which  is  presented  the  percentage  of  the  boys  in  each  of  the  occupational 
classes  registered  in  the  one-  and  two-year  vocational  courses.  Obviously 
these  curricula  do  not  point  collegeward.  Consequently,  it  is  not  sur- 
prising to  see  rather  pronounced  differences  among  the  groups.  Here  is 
the  already  familiar  order  with  common  labor  at  one  extreme,  and 
professional  service  at  the  other. 

Before  leaving  the  returns  from  St.  Louis  it  will  be  worth  while  to 
examine  with  some  care  the  social  composition  of  the  boys  and  girls 
to  be  found  in  two  of  the  curricula  registering  but  few  students — the 
classical  and  fine  arts  courses.  The  first  is  distinctly  reminiscent  of 
the  time  when  secondary  education  was  avowedly  selective  in  its 
character;  and  the  second  is  one  of  the  newer  courses  which  is  supposed 


68 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


to  rest  on  the  possession  of  some  special  talent  or  is  regarded  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  a  life  of  leisure.  The  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  the  students 
(boys  and  girls  combined)  pursuing  these  two  curricula  are  given  in 
percentages  in  Table  XXIII.  Apparently  the  prestige  of  the  classical 
course  carries  but  little  weight  with  the  laboring  classes.  Note,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  extraordinarily  disproportionate  representation  of  the 

TABLE  XXIII 

PERCENTAGE  DISTRIBUTION  or  THE  OCCUPATIONS  or  THE  FATHERS  OF  67  STUDENTS 

PURSUING  THE  CLASSICAL  COURSE  AND  189  THE  FINE  ARTS  COURSE 

IN  THE  ST.  Louis  HIGH  SCHOOLS,  ALL  CLASSES 


Parental  Occupation 

Classical  Course 

Fine  Arts  Course 

Proprietors             

IS.O 

20    I 

Professional  service      

41.  t 

ii  6 

Managerial  service  

17.9 

22  .  2 

Commercial  service  

8.9 

12.2 

Clerical  service        

II  .O 

5.8 

Agricultural  service          

i  .  i 

Artisan-proprietors  

1  .5 

4-7 

Building  trades  

4-  5 

1.6 

Machine  trades           

•?.o 

•z  .7 

Printing  trades  

i  .5 

.5 

JMiscellaneous  trades 

I  .  I 

Transportation  service  

2  .  1 

Public  service                          

3-O 

I  .  I 

Personal  service                               

I  .  I 

Miners  lumbei  -workers  fishermen          .  .  . 

Common  labor                

Unknown  

i  .5 

2.1 

Total           

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

professionals.  Almost  one-third  of  these  students  come  from  this  group 
which  constitutes  less  than  9  per  cent  of  the  total  high-school  population. 
The  fine  arts  course  also  is  not  a  course  for  the  children  of  labor,  as  is 
clearly  seen.  To  what  extent  this  is  due  to  lack  of  talent  is  an 
unanswered  question.  But  it  is  probable  that  the  explanation  is  to  be 
found  in  neither  the  presence  nor  the  absence  of  talent,  but  in  circum- 
stance. 

SEATTLE 

In  the  high  schools  of  Seattle  there  are  seven  curricula,  of  which 
six  are  open  to  the  girls  and  six  to  the  boys,  although  practically  no 
boys  are  found  in  one  of  them.  They  are  all  four-year  courses  with  the 
opportunity  for  electives  ranging  all  the  way  from  seven  to  eighteen 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY          69 

credits1  out  of  a  total  of  thirty-two.  In  addition  to  a  uniform  require- 
ment for  all  courses  of  six  credits  in  English  and  two  credits  in 
United  States  History  and  Civics,  the  seven  curricula  may  be  described 
as  follows: 

I.  The  academic  course  emphasizes  the  traditional  academic  subjects 
and  points  toward  the  higher  education,  although  each  of  the  curricula 
offered  may  prepare  for  college,  if  the  student  exercises  a  little  prudence 
in  the  choice  of  electives,  because  of  the  latitude  in  the  entrance  require- 
ments among  the  colleges  of  the  West.     This  course  includes  five  credits 
in  mathematics,  two  in  science,  two  in  history  besides  the  common 
requirement,  four  in  one  foreign  language,  and  eleven  electives. 

II.  The  general  course  is  designed  for  those  students  who  are  not 
definitely  decided  on  their  educational  future.     Over  one-half  of  the 
required  number  of  credits  are  elective.     The  prescribed  subjects  are 
two  credits  in  algebra,  two  in  history,  two  in  laboratory  science,  and 
eighteen  electives. 

III.  The  commercial  course  prepares  for  clerical  positions  and  includes 
seventeen  credits  in  the  ordinary  commercial  subjects,  allowing  but 
seven  elective  credits. 

IV.  The  industrial  arts  course  is  really  not  so  industrial  as  it  sounds. 
But  six  credits  in  shop  work  and  mechanical  drawing  are  required. 
The  remainder  of  the  course  is  composed  of  mathematics,  history, 
laboratory  science,  and  eleven  elective  credits. 

V.  The  home  economics  course  includes  two  credits  in  mathematics; 
two  in  chemistry;   six  in  food,  clothing,  and  design;   two  in  household 
management;  and  twelve  electives. 

VI.  The  art  and  crafts  course  makes  but  a  narrow  appeal,  although 
it  does  provide  opportunity  for  the  election  of  twelve  credits.     It 
prescribes  two  credits  in  mathematics,  two  in  laboratory  science,  and 
eight  in  art  or  craft. 

VII.  The  music  course  likewise  attracts  but  few  students.     It  is 
composed  of  two  credits  in  mathematics,  two  in  history,  four  in  foreign 
languages,  two  in  science,  six  in  music,  and  eight  electives. 

The  facts  pertaining  to  the  selection  of  curricula  are  presented  in 
Table  XXIV.  The  academic  course  is  seen  to  be  the  most  popular 
among  both  girls  and  boys.  The  number  taking  the  art  and  crafts  and 
fine  arts  courses  is  very  small,  almost  negligible.  A  comparison  with 
Bridgeport  and  St.  Louis  shows  the  commercial  course  to  attract  a  much 
larger  proportion  of  the  girls  in  the  East  than  in  the  West.  Thus  in 

1 A  credit  here  means  a  semester's  work  in  a  particular  subject. 


70  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

Bridgeport  50.2  per  cent  of  all  the  girls  in  the  high  school  are  enrolled 
in  this  course;  while  in  St.  Louis  this  percentage  drops  to  40.8;  and  in 
Seattle  it  drops  still  farther  to  26.1.  It  is  possible  that  this  difference 
may  be  explained  in  terms  of  reduced  expectations  of  college  attendance 
on  the  part  of  girls  in  the  East  due  to  the  practical  absence  of  the  great 
co-educational  state  universities  common  in  the  West. 


TABLE  XXIV 

SELECTION  OF  CURRICULA  BY  CHILDREN  FROM  THE  VARIOUS  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS 
IN  THE  SEATTLE  HIGH  SCHOOLS,  ALL  CLASSES 


GIRLS 

Be 

YS 

M 

2 

43 

PARENTAL 

J 

CO 

"3 

jg 

1 

OCCUPATION 

u 

u 

U 

u 

•3 

U 

Academ 

General 

1 

o 
O 

a 

U 

E 

Art  and 

_o 

9 
% 

I 

1 

General 

Commer 

Industri 

Art  and 

I 

Proprietors  

251 

131 

in 

29 

20 

I 

543 

297 

151 

40 

36 

i 

526 

Professional  service  . 

224 

84 

S6 

18 

19 

4 

385 

187 

77 

20 

34 

318 

Managerial  service.  . 

226 

151 

135 

S3 

as 

2 

592 

227 

144 

40 

48 

I 

460 

Commercial  service  . 

140 

77 

44 

23 

10 

I 

295 

128 

64 

23 

23 

i 

239 

Clerical  service  

54 

Si 

43 

18 

6 

I 

173 

•i6 

32 

IO 

IO 

108 

36 

43 

18 

7 

63 

48 

T76 

Artisan-proprietors.  . 

20 

22 

39 

6 

3 

I 

91 

23 

24 

8 

II 

i 

67 

Building  trades  ...    . 

8t 

114 

102 

34 

19 

3 

415 

»Q 

112 

46 

59 

3 

309 

Machine  trades  ...    . 

60 

68 

94 

26 

IO 

3 

261 

67 

6s 

12 

44 

3 

191 

Printing  trades  

14 

IS 

6 

I 

i 

37 

12 

IO 

2 

4 

28 

Miscellaneous  trades. 

23 

21 

24 

8 

i 

77 

19 

17 

6 

2 

44 

Transportation 
service  

50 

30 

8,1 

22 

s 

I 

20  1 

62 

54 

15 

14 

145 

Public  service  

8 

15 

27 

6 

i 

i 

58 

II 

13 

3 

35 

25 

16 

IO 

$4 

IO 

IO 

8 

7 

35 

Miners,     lumber- 

8 

17 

14 

& 

2O 

17 

5 

51 

IO 

19 

7 

37 

37 

42 

38 

12 

I2g 

49 

45 

12 

13 

i 

Total  

1,282 

gig 

933 

293 

127 

T8 

3,572 

I|3I3 

80T 

275 

324 

12 

2,813 

As  in  the  other  cities  studied,  the  girls  from  the  different  occupational 
groups  hi  the  Seattle  high  schools  exhibit  characteristic  tendencies  in 
the  choice  of  curricula.  This  is  brought  out  best  in  Table  XXV,  in 
which  the  probable  distribution  of  one  hundred  girls  from  each  of  the 
groups  over  the  six  courses  offered  is  given.  The  arrangment  of  the 
table  is  based  on  the  proportion  to  be  found  in  the  academic  course. 
There  is  seen  to  be  a  distinct  negative  correlation  between  choice  of  the 
academic  and  choice  of  the  commercial  course.  For  example,  fifty- 
eight  out  of  every  hundred  of  the  girls  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  the 
professional  pursuits  are  registered  in  the  former  course,  while  but  nine 
are  taking  the  latter.  On  the  other  hand,  among  the  daughters  of  public 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY 


servants,  chiefly  policemen  and  city  firemen,  but  fourteen  out  of  a 
hundred  are  to  be  found  in  the  former  and  forty-six  in  the  latter  course. 
On  the  whole,  the  non-labor  groups  incline  toward  the  academic  and  the 
labor  groups  toward  the  commercial  course.  The  other  courses  appear 
to  be  almost  equally  attractive  to  both  of  these  groups,  although  there  is 
perhaps  some  slight  observable  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  girls  whose 

TABLE  XXV 

PROBABLE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  100  GIRLS  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  OVER 

THE  Six  COURSES  OPEN  TO  GIRLS  IN  THE  SEATTLE  HIGH  SCHOOLS, 

ALL  CLASSES 


Parental  Occupation 

Academic 
Course 

General 
Course 

Com- 
mercial 
Course 

Home 
Econom- 
ics 
Course 

Art  and 
Crafts 
Course 

Music 
Course 

Total 

Professional  service  

58 

22 

o 

c 

e 

I 

IOO 

Commercial  service  

48 

26 

1C 

8 

3, 

IOO 

Proprietors  

46 

24. 

21 

c 

A 

IOO 

Managerial  service  

38 

26 

2*, 

O 

4 

IOO 

Printing  trades  

57 

41 

17 

•z 

2 

IOO 

Agricultural  service  

34 

21 

27 

12 

4 

IOO 

Clerical  service  

•31 

3O 

2C 

II 

2 

IOO 

Miscellaneous  trades  .... 

3O 

27 

2,1 

II 

I 

IOO 

Transportation  service  .  .  . 

20 

1C 

42 

II 

3 

IOO 

Machine  trades  

2*, 

26 

36 

IO 

4 

I 

IOO 

Artisan-proprietors  

22 

24 

43 

7 

3 

I 

IOO 

Personal  service  

2O 

•to 

2C 

16 

IOO 

Buildings  trades  

2O 

27 

30 

8 

C 

I 

IOO 

Miners,  lumber-workers, 
fishermen  

10 

40 

7-2 

8 

IOO 

Common  labor  

18 

JO 

2* 

IO 

IOO 

Public  service  

14 

26 

46 

IO 

2 

2 

IOO 

All  occupations  

36 

26 

26 

8 

4 

IOO 

fathers  are  engaged  in  manual  labor  to  choose  the  general  course  in 
disproportionate  numbers.  This,  in  all  probability,  is  due  to  greater 
uncertainty  about  the  future  on  the  part  of  these  students.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  here,  as  in  St.  Louis,  the  failure  of  the  home  eco- 
nomics course  to  make  any  large  appeal  to  the  daughters  of  laborers. 
It  seems  that,  for  various  reasons,  these  girls  are  interested  primarily 
in  courses  that  relate  rather  definitely  to  wage-earning. 

Table  XXVI,  showing  the  probable  distribution  of  one  hundred 
boys  from  each  occupational  group  over  the  five  curricula  open  to  boys, 
is  arranged  on  the  same  principle  as  the  table  immediately  previous  giving 
similar  facts  for  the  girls.  The  two  curricula  to  be  contrasted  here  are 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


the  academic  and  general  courses.  The  first  draws  especially  from  the 
non-labor  groups,  with  professional  service  leading,  while  the  students 
choosing  the  second  come  in  larger  proportion  from  the  labor  groups. 
The  contrast  is  not  so  pronounced  as  among  the  girls,  but  it  is  sufficiently 
marked  to  be  significant.  It  is  surprising,  perhaps,  that  there  are  no 

TABLE  XXVI 

PROBABLE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  100  BOYS  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  OVER  THE 

FIVE  CURRICULA  OPEN  TO  BOYS  IN  THE  SEATTLE  HIGH  SCHOOLS, 

ALL  CLASSES 


Parental  Occupation 

Academic 
Course 

General 
Course 

Industrial 
Arts 
Course 

Com- 
mercial 
Course 

Art  and 
Crafts 
Course 

Total 

Professional  service  

59 
57 
53 
52 
49 
47 
43 
43 
43 
35 
34 
3i 
29 
29 
27 

17 

24 
29 
27 
3° 
3i 
35 
39 
36 
37 
34 
36 
37 
36 
29 
Si 

35 

II 

7 
10 

9 
ii 

8 
4 
14 

10 

23 
16 

9 
19 

20 

3 

24 

6 

7 
10 

9 
9 
10 

14 
7 

10 

6 

12 
23 
IS 
22 

19 
24 

100 
100 
IOO 
100 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 
IOO 

IOO 

Proprietors  

Commercial  service  

Clerical  service  

Managerial  service  

Agricultural  service  

Miscellaneous  trades    .  . 

Printing  trades  

Transportation  service  
Machine  trades  

2 
2 

Artisan-proprietors    

Public  service  

Building  trades  

I 

Personal  service  

Common  labor  

Miners,    lumber-workers, 
fishermen  

All  occupations  

47 

32 

II 

IO 

IOO 

clear  tendencies  shown  in  the  choice  of  the  two  vocational  curricula — 
the  industrial  arts  and  commerical  courses.  It  is  true  that  certain  of  the 
labor  groups  are  much  better  represented  in  these  curricula  than  any  of 
the  non-labor  groups.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  labor  groups 
have  very  poor  representation.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however, 
that  none  of  these  Seattle  curricula  points  exclusively  toward  industry 
or  commerce  and  away  from  college. 

CONCLUSION 

Certain  conclusions  stand  out  very  clearly  in  the  light  of  this  analysis 
of  practice  in  the  several  cities  studied.  The  children  coming  into  the 
public  high  school  from  the  different  occupational  groups  exhibit  differ- 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  COURSE  OF  STUDY  73 

ent  tendencies  in  their  election  of  curricula.  Those  occupations  that 
have  relatively  poor  representation  in  the  high  school  patronize  the 
"practical"  courses,  the  courses  which  point  outward  toward  wage- 
earning  rather  than  upward  toward  higher  education.  The  lower  the 
grade  of  occupation,  the  stronger  this  tendency  manifests  itself.  The 
girls  are  apparently  influenced  in  larger  measure  than  the  boys  by  the 
occupational  status  of  the  parent. 


CHAPTER  IX 

PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING 
GRADUATION 

Closely  related  to  a  student's  choice  of  curricula  are  his  expectations 
following  graduation,  since  presumably  the  various  curricula  are  organ- 
ized around  different  objectives.  This  relation,  however,  is  not  always 
sustained  in  individual  cases.  Many  instances  can  be  found  of  students 
pursuing  the  college  preparatory  curricula  who  do  not  expect  to  attend 
college.  And  one  would  not  have  to  seek  far  to  find  children  enrolled  in 
the  commercial  course  who  are  not  planning  to  enter  into  clerical  work. 
Consequently  it  will  be  of  interest  to  make  a  study  of  the  relation 
between  parental  occupation  and  expectations  following  graduation 
from  high  school  as  a  supplement  to  the  material  presented  in  the 
immediately  previous  chapter. 

In  each  of  the  four  cities  studied  this  question  was  asked  of  each 
student:  "What  do  you  intend  to  do  following  graduation  from  high 
school  ?  "  There  were,  of  course,  a  few  students  in  each  high  school  who 
reported  that  they  did  not  intend  to  complete  the  course.  In  tabulating 
the  data  their  intentions  on  leaving  the  high  school  were  accepted  in 
lieu  of  the  usual  statement  of  expectations  following  graduation. 

But  of  what  value  are  the  responses  to  this  question  ?  May  they  be 
regarded  as  possessing  any  measure  of  truth  ?  Certainly,  as  indices  of 
what  these  students  are  actually  going  to  do  after  graduation,  they 
are  far  from  satisfactory.  In  considering  their  future  prospects,  these 
young  people  in  all  probability  err  on  the  side  of  optimism,  as  most 
people  would.  Many  of  those  who,  in  their  Freshman  year,  speak  with 
some  confidence  of  their  intentions  to  attend  college  or  university  after 
graduation  from  high  school  will  never  complete  the  high-school  course, 
let  alone  grace  the  halls  of  an  institution  of  higher  learning.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  will  probably  be  some  whose  plans  to  attend  college 
will  crystallize  only  toward  the  end  of  their  stay  in  the  secondary  school. 
It  is  not  maintained,  therefore,  that  these  responses  have  a  great  deal 
of  objective  validity;  but  it  is  believed  that  group-differences,  to  the 
degree  they  are  revealed  here,  have  significance.  It  seems  likely  that 
the  optimistic  bias  would  be  exhibited  equally  by  the  various  groups, 
or  at  least  that  the  bias,  in  so  far  as  it  exists  in  varying  measure  among 

74 


OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION     75 

the  groups,  would  tend  to  minimize  rather  than  exaggerate  the  differences 
that  actually  exist. 

Since  the  expectations  of  the  two  sexes  following  graduation  are 
somewhat  different,  the  presentation  divides  itself  into  two  parts,  the 
one  dealing  with  the  girls,  and  the  other  with  the  boys.  The  order 
of  treatment  will  be  as  just  indicated. 

EXPECTATIONS   OF   THE    GIRLS 

For  purposes  of  tabulation,  the  various  activities  into  which  the 
girls  expect  to  go  are  classified  under  twelve  headings,  namely,  college 
or  university,  normal  school,  business  college,  other  school,  professional 
service,  clerical  service,  commercial  service,  industrial  service,  home, 
travel,  work,  and  undecided.  The  meaning  of  each  of  these  is  clear 
with  the  possible  exception  of  the  eleventh,  work.  In  some  cases  the 
response  was  the  very  general  statement  that  the  student  intended  to 
go  to  work  after  leaving  the  high  school.  The  kind  of  work  was  not 
specified.  Cases  of  this  type  are  included  under  this  category. 

The  gross  data  for  the  four  cities  are  given  in  Table  XXVII.  Accord- 
ing to  this  table,  the  largest  group,  36.5  per  cent  of  the  entire  number, 
are  intending  to  go  to  college.  Over  13  per  cent  are  going  to  normal 
school,  business  college,  or  other  higher  schools.  Of  those  who  do  not 
plan  to  continue  their  education,  by  far  the  largest  number,  practically 
one-fourth  of  the  total,  are  going  into  the  clerical  occupations.  About 
5  per  cent  will  engage  in  professional  service,  chiefly  nursing  and  teach- 
ing. Very  few  are  looking  toward  either  the  commercial  or  industrial 
occupations.  Practically  none  are  looking  forward  to  travel.  Perhaps 
the  most  interesting  fact  in  the  table  is  the  number  expecting  to  remain 
at  home.  Only  82  of  the  9,286  girls  reporting  have  their  eyes  on  the 
domestic  life,  according  to  their  own  statements.  Of  course  these 
returns  should  not  be  taken  too  seriously,  since  at  this  particular  point 
the  question  about  expectations  is  a  rather  personal  one.  Although 
there  were  a  few  girls  who  state  very  frankly  that  they  expect  to  "get 
married, "  the  ordinary  high-school  girl  has  a  natural  reluctance  about 
exhibiting  too  much  certainty  about  a  very  uncertain  matter.  Neverthe- 
less, it  is  apparent  that  the  great  majority  of  the  girls  of  this  generation 
are  looking  forward  to  an  active  life  in  the  world  of  affairs  after  leaving 
the  high  school.  Apparently  they  are  not  so  domestic  as  were  their 
mothers  and  grandmothers.  In  addition  to  these  statements  of  specific 
expectations,  a  small  group  merely  report  that  they  are  going  to  work, 
and  14.4  per  cent  are  undecided.  In  conclusion,  the  general  observation 


76 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


may  be  made  that  in  these  high  schools  the  attention  of  the  girl  students 
is  rather  strongly  directed  toward  a  continued  education,  and  especially 
toward  the  college. 

TABLE  XXVII 

EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION  OF  9,286  GIRLS  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OP 
BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE 


Expectations  Following 
Graduation 

Bridge- 
port 

Mt.  . 

Vernon 

St.  Louis 

Seattle 

Total 

Per- 
centage 

College  

241 

1  86 

1,340 

1,624 

3,391 

36.5 

Normal  school  

204 

4 

146 

81 

525 

5.7 

Business  college  

16 

40 

1  66 

247 

478 

C.  I 

Other  school  

2? 

74 

63 

IOI 

22? 

2  .4 

Professional  service  

39 

25 

197 

217 

478 

5.1 

Commercial  service  .  . 

6 

10 

16 

.  2 

Clerical  service  

A  AT. 

136 

i  ,208 

522 

2,309 

24.9 

Industrial  service  .  

2 

21 

12 

?c 

.4 

Home  

I 

4 

64 

I? 

82 

•  0 

Travel  

3 

5 

8 

.  I 

Work  

'  27 

2 

171 

2OI 

401 

4-3 

Undecided  

132 

7° 

S8o 

S.A.Q 

i  ,  340 

14.4 

Total  

I  ,22O 

516 

3,978 

3,572 

9,286 

IOO.O 

If  the  returns  from  the  various  cities  are  examined  and  compared, 
some  interesting  differences  are  noted.  Bridgeport  and  Seattle  represent 
the  two  extremes.  In  the  former  but  19.4  per  cent  of  the  girls  are 
intending  to  go  to  college  as  compared  with  45.5  per  cent  in  the  latter. 
The  other  side  of  this  comparison  is  found  in  the  proportion  expecting 
to  enter  the  clerical  occupations.  In  Bridgeport  this  proportion  mounts 
to  36.3  per  cent,  while  in  Seattle  it  falls  to  but  14.6  per  cent.  These 
differences  are  probably  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  population  and 
geography.  As  contrasted  with  Seattle,  the  population  of  Bridgeport 
is  predominantly  industrial  and  largely  of  the  new  immigration.  Also 
the  tradition  of  a  higher  education  for  women  is  not  so  strong  in  the 
East  as  in  the  West.  The  presence  of  a  great  state  university,  the 
University  of  Washington,  is  another  important  factor  in  explaining  the 
strong  college  tendency  among  the  girls  of  the  Seattle  high  schools. 

The  table  also  shows  considerable  variation  in  the  proportion  of 
students  looking  toward  the  normal  school.  In  Bridgeport  24  per  cent 
of  the  girls  are  planning  to  attend  teacher-training  institutions.  In 
Mt.  Vernon,  on  the  other  hand,  this  proportion  falls  to  .8  per  cent; 
and  in  Seattle  and  St.  Louis  it  is  but  2.3  and  3.7  per  cents  respectively. 


OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION     77 


This  large  number  in  Bridgeport  intending  to  enter  the  normal  school 
probably  explains  in  some  measure  the  small  proportion  planning  to  enter 
college.  The  presence  of  a  city  normal  school  in  Bridgeport  is  an 
important  factor  in  accounting  for  this  situation,  although  the  Harris 
Teachers'  College  of  St.  Louis  does  not  seem  to  have  a  similar  effect 
there.  Another  matter  worthy  of  comment  in  this  connection  is  the 
small  number  of  students  outside  of  Bridgeport  thinking  about  entering 
teacher-training  institutions.  Clearly  these  cities  are  not  producing 
their  own  future  teachers. 


College 
Clerical  Service 


Freshman 


Sophomore 


Junior 


Senior 


FIG.  16. — Showing  the  percentage  of  girl  students  in  each  of  the  high-school 
years  intending  either  to  go  to  college  or  to  enter  clerical  service  following  graduation. 
Data,  from  9,286  girls  in  the  high  schools  of  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and 
Seattle. 

The  characteristic  differences  in  the  intentions  exhibited  by  the 
students  in  the  four  years  of  the  high  school  are  shown  graphically  in 
Figure  16  in  which  the  percentage  of  girls  in  each  year  expecting  to  go  to 
college  is  compared  with  the  corresponding  percentage  for  those  planning 
to  enter  the  clerical  occupations.  The  proportion  looking  toward  the 
college  begins  at  28.5  per  cent  in  the  Freshman  year  and  rises  to  45.8 
per  cent  in  the  Senior  year.  The  clerical  service  shows  just  the  reverse 
tendency.  In  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  there  are  actually  more 
girls  expecting  to  engage  in  clerical  work  on  leaving  high  school  than 
there  are  preparing  for  college,  30.4  as  against  28.5  per  cent,  to  be  exact. 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


This  proportion,  however,  falls  rapidly,  as  the  other  rises,  and  in  the 
last  year  of  the  high  school  it  is  reduced  to  14.3  per  cent.  This  is  an 
excellent  exhibition  of  the  strength  of  the  college-preparatory  tradition 
in  the  public  high  school.  It  is  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  both  elimina- 
tion and  adaptation. 

We  come  now  to  the  more  important  part  of  the  study — that  pertaining 
to  the  parental  occupation.  A  detailed  table  showing  the  complete 
distribution  of  the  girls  from  each  occupational  group  will  not  be  given, 

TABLE  XXVIII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  GIRLS  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  INTENDING  TO  Go  TO 
COLLEGE,  ENTER  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  OR  ENGAGE  IN  CLERICAL  WORK  ON  LEAV- 
ING HIGH  SCHOOL.  DATA  FROM  9,286  STUDENTS  IN  BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON, 
ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE 


Parental  Occupation 

College 

Normal  School 

Clerical  Service 

Proprietors  

40.4 

4.  S 

12  .0 

Professional  service  

61.8 

4.0 

7.7 

Managerial  service  

41  .  1 

6.1 

10.  0 

Commercial  service  

47-1 

•t.A. 

17.3 

Clerical  service  

72.  7 

6.0 

27.4 

Agricultural  service  

33.6 

7  •  i 

21.8 

Artisan-proprietors  

27.    0 

6.1 

76    Q 

Building  trades  

17.  7. 

"?-4 

VI.  7 

Machine  trades  

10.  0 

8.0 

4O.  3 

Printing  trades  

77  .O 

26.O 

Miscellaneous  trades  

IV  S 

8.7 

AC.Q 

Transportation  service  

2t.-I 

6.2 

30.8 

Public  service  

21.3 

9.8 

32.3 

Personal  service  

18.6 

6.4 

37.1 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen 

2C     C 

20    8 

Common  labor  

14.6 

4.  3 

^O.O 

All  occupations  

36.  5 

5-7 

24.0 

since  it  would  contribute  nothing  of  consequence  that  cannot  be  presented 
in  a  more  simplified  form.  The  percentage  of  students  intending  to 
pursue  each  of  the  three  more  important  lines  of  activity  is  presented 
for  each  set  of  occupations  in  Table  XXVIII.  It  shows  that  49.4  per 
cent  of  the  girls  whose  fathers  or  guardians  are  occupied  as  proprietors 
are  expecting  to  attend  college,  4.5  per  cent  to  go  to  normal  school,  and 
12.0  per  cent  to  enter  the  clerical  service  following  graduation  from 
high  school.  The  remaining  34.1  per  cent,  not  included  in  this  table, 
are  distributed  over  the  other  nine  activities.  Tremendous  differences 
among  the  occupational  groups  are  observed.  The  percentage  intending 
to  go  to  college  ranges  all  the  way  from  61.8  for  professional  service  to 
13.5  for  the  miscellaneous  trades.  In  the  main,  the  labor  groups  are 


OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION     79 


low  and  the  non-labor  groups  high  in  the  frequency  of  college  expecta- 
tions. The  reverse  is  true  with  respect  to  the  proportion  planning  to 
enter  the  clerical  occupations.  Note  the  range  from  7.7  per  cent  for 
professional  service  to  50.0  per  cent  for  common  labor.  The  normal 
school  apparently  is  attracting  the  attention  of  students  from  the  various 
occupations  impartially.  In  no  single  group  do  we  find  any  marked 
tendency  toward  teacher-training  institutions. 

Special  attention  is  directed  in  Table  XXLX  to  the  composition  of 
that  group  of  girls  in  the  high  school  who  are  intending  to  go  to  college. 

TABLE  XXIX 

PERCENTAGE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  FATHERS  OR  GUARDIANS 
OF  3,391  GIRLS  IN  ALL  FOUR  HIGH-SCHOOL  YEARS  AND  or  688  GIRLS  IN  THE 
SENIOR  YEAR  WHO  ARE  INTENDING  TO  Go  TO  COLLEGE.  BRIDGEPORT,  MT. 
VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE 


Parental  Occupation 

All  Four  Years 

Senior  Year 

Proprietors  

24.6 

24.4 

Professional  service  

15.6 

17.7 

Managerial  service  

IO.O 

2O.  3 

Commercial  service  

ii.  8 

12    2 

Clerical  service  

e   7 

e  4. 

Agricultural  service  

2  .4 

2    I 

Artisan-proprietors  

2.7 

2.6 

Building  trades  

2.7 

2  .  7 

Machine  trades  

v8 

2    0 

Printing  trades  

i  .0 

6 

Miscellaneous  trades  

1  .4 

I    2 

Transportation  service  

3.-Z 

2.6 

Public  service  

I  .O 

Personal  service  

.8 

I  .O 

Miners,  lumber-  workers,  fishermen  

.  2 

•} 

Common  labor  

.  e 

•j 

Unknown  

2.4 

2.8 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

One-half  of  the  table  gives  in  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers 
or  guardians  of  the  entire  number  of  girls  in  all  four  years  of  the  high 
school  who  are  looking  toward  college;  the  other  gives  similar  data 
for  this  particular  group  in  the  Senior  year.  It  will  be  seen  at  once 
that  these  girls  come  from  a  very  restricted  section  of  the  population. 
Five  occupational  groups  (proprietors,  professional  service,  managerial 
service,  commercial  service,  and  clerical  service)  include  76.7  per  cent 
of  all  the  girls  expecting  to  enter  college.  In  an  earlier  chapter  it  was 
observed  that  these  five  groups  accounted  for  but  71.5  per  cent  of  all 


8o 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


the  students  in  the  Senior  year.  Thus  the  group  of  girls  going  to  college, 
enrolled  in  all  four  years,  shows  a  considerably  higher  degree  of  selection 
than  the  complete  registration  of  the  Senior  year.  Relatively  speaking, 
the  daughters  of  the  laboring  classes  do  not  look  forward  to  the  higher 
education. 

Furthermore,  the  second  half  of  this  table  makes  it  clear  that  this 
selection  continues  to  operate  from  year  to  year  with  the  result  that 
exactly  80  per  cent  of  the  girls  in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school  who 


16 


Proprietors  (24.4) 

Managerial  service  (20.3) 

Professional  service  d?-7) 

Commercial  service  (12.2) 

Clerical  service  (5.4) 

Building  trades  (3.3) 

Machine  trades  (2.9) 

Artisan-proprietors  (2.6) 

Transportation  service  (2.6) 

Agricultural  service  (2.1) 

Miscellaneous  trades  (1.2) 

Personal  service  (i.o) 

Printing  trades  (.6) 

Public  service  (.3) 
Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen       (.3) 

Common  labor  (.3) 

Unknown  (2.8) 


FIG.  17. — Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians 
of  688  girls  in  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  who  are  intending  to  go  to  college. 
Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis,  and  Seattle. 

are  planning  to  go  to  college  come  from  the  five  groups  just  named. 
These  facts  are  presented  graphically  in  Figure  17.  If  the  artisan- 
proprietors  and  agricultural  service  be  set  aside  as  not  strictly  labor 
groups,  the  contribution  of  the  laboring  classes  is  reduced  to  but  12.5  per 
cent,  and  it  seems  altogether  probable  in  the  light  of  evidence  already 
presented  that  this  representation  of  labor  will  be  further  reduced  when 
the  roll  is  called  in  the  Freshman  year  of  college.  These  statements  on 
the  part  of  high-school  Seniors  are  in  some  cases  certainly  no  more  than 
expressions  of  desire  which  will  have  to  give  way  before  the  facts  of  life. 
One  other  relation  should  be  examined  before  passing  to  an  analysis 
of  the  expectations  of  the  high-school  boys.  It  is  the  relation  between 


OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION     8l 


the  occupational  groups  in  the  different  years  of  the  high  school.  And 
for  purposes  of  economy  a  comparison  will  be  made  between  but  two 
of  the  groups,  the  professional  service  and  the  machine  trades.  The 
former  represents  the  tendency  among  the  non-labor,  while  the  latter 
is  typical  of  the  labor  groups.  The  comparison  is  drawn  in  Figure  18. 
In  the  Freshman  year  the  widest  differences  are  noted.  Here  58.5  per 
cent  of  the  girls  from  professional  homes  are  intending  to  go  to  college. 
All  the  forces  of  home  and  tradition  are  pointing  them  in  that  direction. 
It  is  a  question  that  is  settled  for  them.  They  do  not  have  to  think 


Professu  nal  Service . 
Machine 


Trades       


Freshman 


Sophomore  Junior 

High-School  Year 


Senior 


FIG.  18. — Showing  for  each  of  two  occupational  groups  the  percentage  of  girls  in 
each  year  of  the  high  school  intending  to  go  to  college.  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon, 
St.  Louis,  and  Seattle. 

about  it.  On  the  other  hand,  of  the  girls  in  this  first  year  whose  fathers 
are  engaged  in  the  machine  trades,  only  13.7  per  cent  are  looking  toward 
the  college.  As  we  pass  up  through  the  years,  we  see  the  proportion 
going  to  college  increasing  for  each  group,  until  in  the  Senior  year,  the 
percentage  is  67.8  for  the  one,  and  29.0  for  the  other.  The  increase  for 
the  machine  trades  is  the  larger.  This  is,  in  all  probability,  to  be 
explained  through  the  strong  college-preparatory  tradition  which  the 
student  encounters  in  the  high  school,  as  well  as  through  greater  elimina- 
tion among  those  no  intending  to  go  on  to  college. 

EXPECTATIONS   OF   THE   BOYS 

Naturally  the  classification  of  activities  for  the  boys,  though  funda- 
mentally the  same  as  that  used  for  the  girls,  has  its  characteristic 
features.  "  Normal  school "  and  "  home  "  are  eliminated,  and  in  addition 


82 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


to  the  remaining  categories  of  the  previous  classification,  "agriculture," 
"transportation  service,"  and  "public  service"  are  included.  Under 
these  thirteen  headings  it  was  found  possible  to  group  the  expectations 
of  all  the  boys. 

TABLE  XXX 

EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION  OF  7,979  BOYS  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF 
BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE 


Expectations  Following 
Graduation 

Bridgeport 

Mt. 
Vernon 

St.  Louis 

Seattle 

Total 

Per- 
centage 

College  

6<;<; 

34O 

1,822 

1  ,  706 

4,613 

17  8 

Business  college  

o 

6 

17 

27 

CQ 

8 

Other  school  

40 

ie 

80 

en 

104. 

2    4. 

Professional  service. 

II 

7 

27 

24. 

70 

I    O 

Commercial  service  

32 

27 

114 

89 

262 

•2      3 

Clerical  service  

a 

46 

1  06 

44 

3IQ 

4.   o 

Industrial  service  .•  .  . 

22 

20 

02 

IOI 

2CC 

2     2 

Transportation  service 

II 

c 

16 

2 

Public  service  

2 

2 

8 

12 

.  2 

Agriculture  

I 

13 

12 

26 

.  3 

Travel   

2 

7 

g 

.  I 

Work  

47 

27 

598 

168 

840 

10.  <; 

Undecided  

174 

71 

?74 

47? 

1  ,204 

16.2 

Total     

i  ,037 

<;68 

3.  Gen 

2,81=; 

7  ,070 

100  o 

Table  XXX  shows  the  college  tradition  to  be  much  stronger  among 
the  boys  in  these  four  cities  than  among  the  girls.  Of  all  the  boys  in 
high  school,  57.8  per  cent  are  intending  to  go  to  college,  according  to 
their  own  statements.  No  other  line  of  activity  is  attracting  a  suffi- 
ciently large  number  to  be  worthy  of  comment.  Slightly  over  16  per  cent 
are  "undecided"  and  10.5  per  cent  are  just  going  to  "work,"  but  these 
categories  are  so  general  as  to  make  it  unnecessary  to  qualify  the  preced- 
ing statement. 

An  examination  of  the  facts  for  the  different  cities  shows  no  such 
variation  here  as  was  found  for  the  girls.  In  each  city  over  one-half  of 
the  boys  are  looking  toward  the  college.  If  Bridgeport  and  Seattle  are 
compared,  it  is  discovered  that  the  percentages  of  such  boys  in  the  high 
schools  of  the  two  cities  are  almost  identical,  being  63.2  and  63.8  respec- 
tively. It  will  be  remembered  that  the  corresponding  percentages  for 
the  girls  were  19.4  and  45.5.  These  figures  are  illustrative  of  a  tendency 
noted  at  several  points  in  this  study,  namely,  that  the  girls  appear  to 
represent  the  social  class  from  which  they  come  more  than  do  the  boys. 
The  industrial  and  immigrant  character  of  the  Bridgeport  population 


OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION     83 

provides  little  stimulus  toward  a  college  education.    The  boys  break 
over,  the  girls  conform. 

These  differences  between  the  boys  and  the  girls  are  brought  out 
more  clearly  in  Figure  19.  From  the  first  year  to  the  last  over  20  per 
cent  more  boys  than  girls  are  expecting  to  enter  college.  This  does  not, 
of  course,  mean  that  all  these  boys  will  eventually  go  to  college,  but  it 
does  indicate  that  they  regard  college  preparation  as  a  very  good 
explanation  of  their  registration  in  the  high  school.  So  far  as  the  boys 
are  concerned,  it  seems  that  the  public  high  school  is  predominantly 


Boys. 
Girls. 


Freshman  Sophomore  Junior 

High-School  Year 


Senior 


FIG.  19. — Showing  the  percentage  of  girls  and  the  percentage  of  boys  in  each 
year  of  the  high  school  intending  to  go  to  college.  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  St.  Louis, 
and  Seattle. 

a  college-preparatory  institution  in  spirit,  in  spite  of  all  the  concessions 
made  to  the  practical  needs  of  those  whose  education  must  end  with 
the  high  school.  This  is  not  so  true  of  the  girls,  because  there  is  one 
curriculum  in  the  high  school  which  is  very  popular  among  them  and 
which  does  point  quite  definitely  to  something  besides  the  college — and 
that  is  the  commercial  course.  Nothing  comparable  to  it  for  the  boys 
is  to  be  found  in  the  ordinary  high  school. 

Passing  to  a  consideration  of  the  relation  between  parental  occupa- 
tion and  expectations  following  graduation,  we  shall  merely  call  attention 
to  the  proportion  from  each  group  expecting  to  go  to  college.  An 
examination  of  the  detailed  distribution  is  of  little  significance.  These 
facts  are  given  in  Table  XXXI.  A  minute  exposition  of  this  table  is 


84 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


unnecessary,  since  the  results  are  much  the  same  as  those  already  dis- 
cussed for  the  girls.  This  difference  alone  should  be  noted,  that  the 
boys  from  the  laboring  classes  exhibit  a  relatively  stronger  college 
tendency  than  do  the  girls.  There  is  slight  tendency  for  them  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  their  fathers.  Most  of  them  look  on  the  high  school 
as  a  means  of  lifting  themselves  out  of  the  class  into  which  they  were 
born. 

TABLE  XXXI 

NUMBER  AND  PERCENTAGE  OF  BOYS  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  INTENDING 
TO  Go  TO  COLLEGE  AFTER  GRADUATION  FROM  HIGH  SCHOOL  IN  BRIDGE- 
PORT, MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE,  ALL  CLASSES 


Parental  Occupation 

Number 

Percentage 

Proprietors  

I  ,  IS2 

66  4 

Professional  service  

COQ 

77    3 

Managerial  service  

8is 

6?  o 

Commercial  service  

507 

64  6 

Clerical  service  

220 

ct;   A. 

Agricultural  service  

1  06 

en  6 

Artisan-proprietors  

163 

A7    I 

Building  trades  

241 

40.8 

Machine  trades.  .    .    . 

26j. 

47    6 

Printing  trades  

11 

4O    7 

Miscellaneous  trades  

116 

38  8 

Transportation  service  

168 

46  .O 

Public  service  .... 

^8 

3C     8 

Personal  service  

•ZQ 

30  8 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen  

3 

IS.  8 

Common  labor  

2« 

2<:  8 

Unknown  

113 

44    1 

Total  „.    .    . 

4,  613 

t;7    8 

That  there  are,  after  all,  important  differences  among  the  groups 
is  shown  in  Figure  20,  which  presents  for  the  boys  the  same  comparison 
made  for  the  girls  in  Figure  18.  The  percentages  from  both  the  profes- 
sional service  and  the  machine  trades,  in  each  year  of  the  high  school 
intending  to  go  to  college,  are  given.  Large  differences  exist,  but  not 
so  large  as  for  the  girls. 

STUDENTS   NOT  EXPECTING  TO   COMPLETE   THE   HIGH-SCHOOL  COURSE 

As  intimated  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  a  few  students  were 
found  who  did  not  expect  to  complete  the  high-school  course.  It  will 
be  of  interest  to  see  from  what  elements  in  the  population  they  come. 
Since  the  number  in  the  three  upper  years  is  practically  negligible,  we 
shall  confine  our  attention  to  the  Freshman  year. 


OCCUPATION  AND  EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION  85 


Of  the  6,782  students  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  schools  in  the  four 
cities,  only  451  expressed  any  doubt  about  their  prospects  of  completing 
the  course.  Undoubtedly,  many  others  were  uncertain  about  the  matter 
but  failed  to  give  expression  to  this  uncertainty.  The  social  composition 
of  this  group  of  children  is  given  in  Table  XXXII.  The  first  part  of  the 
table  presents  the  actual  distribution  of  the  451  students  over  the  several 


So 


60 


Machine 


Professio  lal  Service  • 


Trades      


Freshman 


Sophomore 


Junior 


Senior 


High-School  Year 

FIG.  20. — Showing  for  each  of  two  occupational  groups  the  percentage  of  boys  in 
each  year  of  the  high  school  intending  to  go  to  college.  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Veraon. 
St.  Louis,  and  Seattle. 

occupational  groups;  the  second,  the  percentage  of  the  children  from 
each  of  the  groups  who  do  not  expect  to  complete  the  course.  For 
purposes  of  comparison,  this  latter  part  of  the  table  is  the  more  significant. 
In  the  main,  it  shows  the  order  already  familiar  to  the  reader.  The 
children  whose  fathers  are  engaged  in  the  professional  occupations 
exhibit  the  least  uncertainty  about  their  stay  in  the  high  school.  Only 
3.3  per  cent  of  them  do  not  expect  to  complete  the  course.  The  children 
of  common  laborers,  on  the  other  hand,  show  the  greatest  uncertainty. 
Exactly  20  per  cent,  or  one  in  every  five,  are  doubtful  about  remaining 
until  graduation.  The  other  groups  fall  in  between  these  two  extremes, 
with  the  laboring  classes  occupying  the  less  favorable  positions.  Because 
of  the  small  number  of  cases  involved  in  some  of  the  groups,  too  much 


86 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


weight  should  not  be  attached  to  their  records.  The  unfavorable 
showing  of  the  printing  trades,  for  example,  is  probably  to  be  explained 
in  this  way.  Likewise,  the  relatively  favorable  position  of  personal 

TABLE  XXXII 

OCCUPATIONS  or  THE  FATHERS  OR  GUARDIANS  or  451  STUDENTS  IN  THE  FIRST  YEAR 
OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  WHO  Do  NOT  EXPECT  TO  COMPLETE  THE  COURSE,  AND 
THE  PERCENTAGE  FROM  EACH  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUP  NOT  EXPECTING  TO  COM- 
PLETE THE  COURSE.  DATA  FROM  6,782  FRESHMEN  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF 
BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE 


Parental  Occupation 


Number 


Percentage 


Proprietors 

Professional  service 

Managerial  service 

Commercial  service 

Clerical  service 

Agricultural  service 

Artisan-proprietors 

Building  trades 

Machine  trades 

Printing  trades 

Miscellaneous  trades 

Transportation  service 

Public  service 

Personal  service i , 

Miners,  lumber-workers,  fishermen . 

Common  labor . » 

Unknown 

All  occupations 


43 
17 
48 

22 
24 
17 
14 
78 

35 

9 

26 

38 

13 

6 

5 
24 

32 


3-6 
3-3 
4.6 
3-8 
6.0 

10.5 
4-7 

13-0 
6.2 

13.0 
8.0 
9.0 

ii. i 

6-3 
16.1 
20.  o 
13-3 


6.6 


service  would  probably  not  be  maintained  in  the  face  of  more  adequate 
data.  On  the  whole,  the  evidence  here  supports  the  conclusions  derived 
from  the  study  of  expectations  following  graduation. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CULTURAL  LEVEL 

All  that  has  been  said  in  the  previous  chapters  about  parental 
occupations  has  a  very  direct  bearing  on  the  relation  of  the  public  high 
school  to  the  various  social  and  cultural  levels  within  a  community. 
All  the  evidence  presented  indicates  that  the  high  school  is,  in  the  main, 
serving  the  occupational  groups  representative  of  the  upper  social  strata. 
This  seems  to  be  true  even  in  those  cities  where  the  proportion  of  children 
of  high-school  age  attending  the  public  secondary  school  is  relatively 
large.  Of  course,  the  writer  is  quite  conscious  of  the  fact  that  social 
lines  do  not  follow  rigidly  the  occupational  divisions,  but  he  is  firmly 
convinced  that,  within  limits,  the  occupation  is  an  immensely  important, 
if  not  a  decisive,  factor  in  determining  social  status.  One  does  not 
canvass  the  ranks  of  manual  labor  while  seeking  out  the  select  "Four 
Hundred"  of  urban  society.  To  be  sure,  individuals  occasionally  break 
the  bonds  of  an  occupation  without  leaving  it,  but  such  cases  are  rare. 
Also,  family  connections  and  inheritance  may  set  aside  or  shift  the 
incidence  of  the  decrees  of  occupation,  as  manifested  in  economic  power, 
social  prestige,  and  cultural  advantages.  These,  however,  are  not  the 
rule.  Thus  far,  the  study  shows  the  high  school  drawing  its  population 
from  the  higher  cultural  levels. 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  chapter  to  display  an  additional  bit  of 
evidence  pointing  in  the  same  direction.  In  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon, 
each  high-school  student  was  asked  if  there  was  a  telephone  in  his  home 
or  the  home  in  which  he  lived.  This  same  question  was  asked  the  chil- 
dren in  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  and  the  trade  school  in  Bridge- 
port, as  well  as  the  pupils  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  sixth  grade.  Returns  on 
this  item  were  not  received  from  the  students  attending  the  Bridgeport 
Evening  High  School. 

Obviously,  the  possession  of  a  telephone  is  not  an  adequate  index 
of  cultural  level.  The  resulting  dichotomous  classification  of  people 
makes  of  modern  society  an  entirely  too  simple  affair.  It  divides  people 
into  two  hard  and  fast  divisions — those  who  have  telephones  and  those 
who  have  not.  Clearly  this  is  an  over-simplification.  It  reminds  us  of 
the  much-advertised  classification  of  all  men  into  two  classes — the 
exploited  and  the  exploiters.  As  useful  as  this  may  be  for  political 

87 


88  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

purposes,  and  as  true  as  it  may  be  as  a  description  of  certain 
aspects  of  modern  society,  it  does  not  give  a  truthful  picture  of  people 
who,  as  a  rule,  are  neither  black  nor  white,  but,  on  examination, 
are  found  to  represent  varying  shades  of  gray. 

Also,  the  possession  of  a  telephone  is  not  an  infallible  index  of 
cultural  level;  some  occupations  demand  a  telephone  in  the  home, 
others  may  require  that  it  be  absent.  Undoubtedly,  many  persons  do 
not  have  telephones  in  their  homes  who  are  living  on  a  relatively  high 
cultural  plane  and  it  is  certain  that  the  reverse  is  equally  true.  Yet, 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  telephone  is  one  of  the  many  elements 
going  to  make  up  the  cultured  home.  The  correlation  is  not  perfect, 
but  it  is  positive. 

An  ideal  investigation  would  have  included  returns  on  many  other 
items,  such  as  the  number  and  character  of  books,  magazines,  and 
newspapers  in  the  home,  various  other  material  possessions  indicating 
comfort  and  taste,  the  character  of  the  conversation,  the  interest  in 
music  and  art,  and  a  host  of  other  things  that  are  already  in  the  reader's 
mind.  But  obviously,  this  ideal  was  not  attainable  in  a  study  bounded 
by  the  ordinary  limitations  of  investigation.  A  thorough  investigation 
along  lines  here  suggested  of  the  cultural  level  and  the  standard  of  living 
of  the  homes  from  which  high-school  students  come  should  make  a 
valuable  contribution  toward  the  understanding  of  the  problems  which 
public  secondary  education  is  facing  in  this  country. 

The  significance  of  the  telephone,  at  least,  as  an  index  of  general 
social  and  educational  advancement,  is  shown  in  an  impressive  fashion 
in  Figure  21.  The  data  for  this  diagram  are  taken  from  the  1917 
report  of  the  Federal  Census  on  Telephones,  and  An  Index  Number  for 
State  School  Systems,  by  Ayres.  The  states,  including  the  District  of 
Columbia,  were  first  arranged  in  order  of  their  achievements  in  secondary 
education  as  measured  by  the  percentage  of  the  total  school  attendance 
credited  to  the  high  school  in  1918.  They  were  then  grouped  into  five 
groups  of  ten  states  each,  except  the  last,  in  which  there  are  but  nine. 
And  finally,  the  number  of  telephones  per  thousand  inhabitants  was 
averaged  for  each  of  these  groups  of  states.  This  figure  forms  the  basis 
for  the  construction  of  the  bars  in  the  diagram. 

It  is  clear  that  some  relation  between  high-school  attendance  and 
the  ratio  of  telephones  to  the  population  does  exist.  For  the  ten 
states  ranking  highest  in  the  proportion  of  children  attending  high 
school,  the  average  number  of  telephones  per  thousand  inhabitants  is 
145,  while  the  corresponding  figure  for  the  nine  states  ranking  lowest  in 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CULTURAL  LEVEL  89 

this  respect  is  but  41.  The  relation,  however,  is  not  pronounced  among 
the  states  at  the  upper  end  of  this  distribution.  The  first  ten  exceed 
the  record  of  the  second  ten  by  two  points  only;  and  there  is  much 
overlapping  between  these  two  groups  if  the  facts  for  individual  states 
are  examined.  For  the  remainder  of  the  distribution,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  is  relatively  little  overlapping,  and  the  difference  from  group 
to  group  is  marked.  Of  course,  no  claim  is  advanced  that  there  is  any 
large  and  direct  causal  relation  between  the  number  of  telephones  in  a 

Cal.,  Wash.,  Kan.,  Vt.,  N.H.,  Me., 
Mass.,  Nev.,  D.C.,  Iowa  (145) 

Wis.,    Ore.,    Neb.,    Colo.,    S.D., 
Minn.,   Idaho,   Ind.,   N.Y.,  Ohio     (143) 

Mich.,  N.T.,  Conn.,  Mont.,  R.I. 

Mo.,  HI.,  Utah,  Del.,  Pa.  (118) 

Wyo.,   N.D.,   Okla.,    Ariz.,   Md., 

Va.,  Tex.,  W.Va.,  La.,  Ky.  (73) 

Fla.,    N.M.,    Ala.,    Ga.,    N.C., 
Tenn.,  Ark.,   Miss.,   S.C.  (41) 

FIG.  21. — Showing  the  average  number  of  telephones  per  1,000  inhabitants  in 
five  groups  of  states  in  1917,"  arranged  in  order  of  the  percentage  that  high-school 
attendance  was  of  total  public-school  attendance  hi  1918.* 

1  Bureau  of  the  Census,   Census  of  Electrical  Industries,  1917,  "Telephones,"  p.  22. 
•  L.  P.  Ayres,  An  Index  Number  for  State  School  Systems,  p.  37. 

community  and  the  attendance  at  high  school.  The  one  is  certainly 
not  the  cause  of  the  other.  The  installation  of  a  telephone  hi  a  particular 
home  will  not,  in  some  mysterious  way,  start  the  children  of  high-school 
age  off  to  high  school  the  following  morning,  if  they  have  not  been  attend- 
ing. It  is  much  more  likely  that  the  two  phenomena  are  both  the 
effects  of  a  common  cause. 

BRIDGEPORT 

In  the  city  of  Bridgeport  there  are  115  telephones  for  every  thousand 
inhabitants.  This  is  only  a  moderate  record,  since  the  number  ranges 
in  American  cities  from  about  50  to  250.  A  more  serviceable  figure  for 
the  purposes  of  this  study  is  the  number  of  telephones  in  residences  alone. 
On  March  31,  1921,  there  were  8,302  such  telephones.  Assuming  that 
the  average  family  in  Bridgeport  consists  of  approximately  five  persons, 
there  were  probably  about  30,000  families  in  the  city  at  the  time  the 
data  for  this  study  were  collected.  In  other  words,  telephones  are  to 
be  found  in  about  28  per  cent  of  the  homes. 

The  percentage  of  children  in  the  high  school,  the  trade  school, 
and  the  compulsory  continuation  classes,  in  whose  homes  there  are 


QO  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

telephones,  is  graphically  presented  in  Figure  22.  The  children  in  the 
high  school  exhibit  one  extreme  and  those  in  the  continuation  classes 
the  other;  and  the  difference  is  indeed  large.  Among  the  former, 
telephones  are  in  almost  50  per  cent  of  the  homes,  while  in  the  latter 

High  school  (49.5) 

Trade  school  (19.5) 

Continuation  classes        (7.1) 

FIG.  22. — Showing  the  percentage  of  children  in  the  high  school,  the  trade  school, 
and  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  Data 
from  2,531,  from  198,  and  from  421  cases  respectively.  Bridgeport,  February  and 
March,  1921. 

this  percentage  drops  to  approximately  7.  The  former  is  far  above, 
and  the  latter  far  below  the  percentage  for  the  entire  city,  as  given 
above.  The  students  in  the  trade  school  constitute  an  intermediate 
group,  although  here  the  percentage  with  telephones  is  somewhat  smaller 
than  for  the  population  as  a  whole.  Clearly  the  high-school  population 
is  a  socially  favored  group  as  measured  by  this  single  criterion  of  culture. 

Senior  (60.3) 

Junior  (57.2) 

Sophomore  (50.1) 

Freshman  (39.7) 

FIG.  23. — Showing  the  percentage  of  students  in  each  year  of  the  Bridgeport 
High  School  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  March,  1921. 

A  study  of  the  four  high-school  years  reveals  the  continued  operation 
of  this  selective  tendency.  An  inspection  of  Figure  23  shows  this  to  be 
true.  Here  is  given  the  percentage  of  students  in  each  of  the  years  or 
grades  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  This  advances  from  39.7 
per  cent  in  the  Freshman  .to  60.3  in  the  Senior  year — an  impressive 
advance.  A  word  of  caution,  however,  should  be  thrown  out  here  in 
making  an  interpretation  of  the  facts  as  presented.  It  seems  probable 
that  there  are  two  influences  working  toward  the  same  end.  On  the 
one  hand,  there  is  the  selective  factor.  A  disproportionately  large 
number  of  those  eliminated  from  high  school  come  from  homes  in  which 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AXD  THE  CULTURAL  LEVEL 


there  never  have  been  and  never  will  be  telephones.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  thought  is  worthy  of  consideration  that  continuation  in  high 
school  may  be  a  factor  working  for  the  installation  of  a  telephone  in 
the  home.  The  social  tone  of  the  school  and  the  associations  formed 
probably  cause  these  adolescents  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  the  parents 
favoring  an  expenditure  for  this  purpose.  There  are  many  reasons  why 
boys  and  girls  of  high-school  age,  particularly,  should  want  telephones 
in  their  homes.  Of  course  this  factor  operates  outside,  as  well  as 

College  (72.7) 

Normal  (50.0) 

Commercial  (37.5) 

All  girls  (48.0) 

FIG.  24. — Showing  the  percentage  of  girls  in  each  of  three  curricula  in  the  Bridge- 
port High  School  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  Data  from  271,  376,  and  715 
cases  respectively.  March,  1921. 

College  (58.9) 

General  (58.3) 

Scientific  (51-4) 

Commercial  (35.5) 

Industrial  (28.9) 

All-boys  (51.3) 

FIG.  25. — Showing  the  percentage  of  boys  in  each  of  five  curricula  hi  the  Bridge- 
port High  School  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  Data  from  397,  562,  24,  141, 
and  45  cases  respectively.  March,  1921. 

inside,  the  high  school,  but  the  social  life  of  the  school  conceivably 
accentuates  it.  At  anyj-ate,  the  difference  from  year  to  year  is  signifi- 
cant. 

In  view  of  the  findings  already  discussed,  bearing  on  the  relation 
of  parental  occupation  to  choice  of  curricula,  there  is  a  natural  expecta- 
tion that  the  percentage  of  students  coming  from  homes  with  telephones 
varies  with  the  courses.  And  this  is  exactly  the  case,  as  shown  in 
Figure  24  and  Figure  25.  In  the  former  are  presented  the  facts  for  the 
girls,  and  in  the  latter  for  the  boys.  The  girls  in  the  college  course 
appear  to  be  the  most  highly  selected  group.  Almost  three-fourths  of 
these  students  have  telephones  in  their  homes.  The  boys  in  the  same 


92  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

course  show  no  such  measure  of  selection,  although  for  them,  the  per- 
centage having  telephones  is  larger  than  in  any  other  group  of  boys. 
The  difference  found  here  between  the  two  sexes  confirms  the  conclusions 
drawn  in  an,  earlier  chapter  that  class  lines  are  more  closely  drawn 
among  the  girls  than  among  the  boys.  At  the  other  extreme,  as  might 
be  expected,  is  the  commercial  course  for  the  girls  and  the  industrial 
arts  course  for  the  boys,  with  37.5  per  cent  and  28.9  per  cent  respectively 
of  the  students  pursuing  the  two  courses  having  telephones  in  their 
homes.  The  boys  in  the  commercial  course  have  about  the  same  record 
as  the  girls.  The  general  course  is  somewhat  above  the  average,  the 
scientific  course  only  slightly  so.  Likewise,  the  normal  course  seems 
to  attract  a  constituency  that  is  just  about  on  a  level  with  the  high-school 
population  as  a  whole  with  respect  to  this  single  item  of  information.  All 
these  facts  constitute  corroborative  evidence  of  the  socially  selective 
character  of  the  various  curricula  offered  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School. 

MT.    VERNON 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  population  of  Mt.  Vernon, 
since  it  is  a  suburb  of  New  York  City,  is  somewhat  selective.  In  large 
measure,  it  is  a  middle-class  residential  community.  Consequently,  the 
ratio  of  telephones  to  the  population  is  considerably  higher  than  in 
Bridgeport  and  somewhat  higher  than  in  most  American  cities. 

Since  data  from  the  sixth  grade  are  available,  the  contribution  of 
Mt.  Vernon  to  this  part  of  the  study  has  peculiar  interest.  While  it 
is  admitted  that  the  pupils  of  the  sixth  grade  are  the  product  of  a  certain 
measure  of  selection,  they  do  give  a  fairly  reliable  cross-section  of  the 
population  of  the  city.  Figure  26  is  based  on  the  percentage  of  children 
in  each  grade,  for  which  data  are  available,  in  whose  homes  there  are 
telephones.  This  percentage  in  the  sixth  grade  is  44,  and  rises  to  87.5 
in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school.  Although  operating  at  a  higher  level, 
due  to  certain  general  differences  between  the  two  cities  noted  in  the 
previous  paragraph,  the  same  tendencies  appear  here  as  in  Bridgeport. 
From  the  sixth  to  the  twelfth  grade  there  is  a  constant  increase  in  the 
proportion  of  children  coming  from  homes  having  telephones.  The 
curve  rises  somewhat  more  rapidly  between  the  Freshman  and  Sopho- 
more years  of  the  high  schools  than  in  any  other  interval.  Whether 
this  is  a  chance  feature  of  the  curve  that  might  disappear  with  data  from 
a  larger  number  of  cases,  or  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  especially  rapid 
elimination  between  the  first  and  second  high-school  years,  it  is  impossible 
to  speak  with  assurance.  Conceivably  it  might  be  accounted  for  through 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CULTURAL  LEVEL 


93 


the  operation  of  some  other  factor,  such  as  the  influence  of  high-school 
attendance  on  the  installation  of  a  telephone  in  the  home.    As  a  matter 


Bo 


6c 


Sixth 


Freshman    Sophomore 
School  Grade 


Junior 


Senior 


FIG.  26. — Showing  for  each  grade  from  the  sixth  to  the  Senior  year  of  the  high 
school  the  percentage  of  children  in  whose  homes  there  are  telephones.  No  data  for 
the  seventh  and  eighth  grades.  Mt.  Vernon,  May,  1921. 

of  fact,  an  examination  of  the  enrolments  in  the  different  grades  does 
indicate  that  the  elimination  between  the  Freshman  and  Sophomore 
years  is  somewhat  more  pronounced  than  hi  the  grades  from  the  sixth 

TABLE  XXXIII 

PERCENTAGE  or  STUDENTS  PURSUING  EACH  CURRICULUM  IN  WHOSE  HOMES  THERE 
ARE  TELEPHONES,  MT.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOLS,  ALL  YEARS 


Curriculum 

Girls 

Boys 

Total 

Classical  

O2.  2 

86  0 

80  <; 

General  

77-6 

82.5 

70.8 

Scientific  

6l-5 

70-7 

77-8 

Commercial  

57.  ^ 

52.7 

cc  .7 

Practical  arts  

74.0 

74..  i 

AH  onrrioulft  

76.2 

7^.2 

7c  .  c 

to  the  ninth.  Whatever  the  explanation,  the  student  in  the  Senior 
year  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  high  schools  in  whose  home  there  is  no  telephone 
has  a  very  small  representation. 


94  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

As  in  Bridgeport,  there  are  interesting  differences  among  the  students 
choosing  the  various  curricula.  This  is  brought  out  clearly  in  Table 
XXXIII.  The  classical  course,  throughout  the  four  high-school  years, 
draws  almost  exclusively  from  students  coming  from  homes  where  there 
are  telephones.  This  tendency  is  somewhat  more  marked  among  the 
girls  than  among  the  boys.  It  seems  that  the  girls  from  the  well-to-do 
classes  cling  to  the  conventional  course  which  carries  with  it  the  greatest 
social  prestige.  Note,  in  this  connection,  that  in  each  case  the  two 
newer  academic  curricula  (general  and  scientific)  attract  a  somewhat 
smaller  proportion  of  girls  than  boys  from  homes  possessing  telephones. 
The  practical  arts  courses  represent  the  other  extreme,  with  the  commer- 
cial course  occupying  an  intermediate  position.  Telephones  are  found 
in  the  homes  of  only  about  one-third  of  the  students  pursuing  the  former 
curriculum.  The  fact  that  no  girls  in  this  course  are  from  such  homes 
should  not  be  regarded  seriously,  since  their  number  is  very  small. 


CHAPTER  XI 
THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES 

In  the  American  social  order,  large  responsibilities  respecting  the 
care  and  education  of  the  children  are  placed  on  the  family.  The 
measure  of  these  responsibilities  varies  from  place  to  place  and  it  is 
not  so  great  as  in  former  times.  The  establishment  of  the  public  school 
and  the  passage  of  compulsory  education  laws  have  lightened  the 
parental  obligations  and  set  limits  to  the  parental  authority  in  the 
domain  of  education.  But,  beyond  the  reach  of  these  compulsory  laws 
the  family  still  holds  its  sway,  and  as  a  rule,  the  field  of  secondary 
education  is  in  this  realm.  Consequently,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  note 
the  relation  between  certain  family  influences  and  the  high-school 
population. 

To  a  degree,  all  the  sociological  factors  discussed  in  this  monograph 
either  determine  or  reflect  home  conditions.  This  is  certainly  true  of 
parental  occupation  which  is  the  backbone  of  the  study.  In  this  chapter, 
attention  will  be  directed  to  certain  of  the  narrower  aspects  of  family 
life,  including  the  mortality  of  parents,  the  occupation  of  the  mother, 
the  number  of  children,  and  the  order  of  birth.  This  is  not  a  particularly 
formidable  array  of  family  influences,  nor  is  it  at  all  complete.  A  much 
more  detailed  study  is  needed.  Nevertheless,  the  study  of  these  few 
factors  will  be  seen  to  be  significant  and  suggestive. 

MORTALITY   OF   PARENTS 

Perhaps  there  is  no  single  incident  in  the  life  of  the  family  that  is 
more  calamitous  and  disorganizing  than  the  death  of  one  of  the  parents 
before  the  children  have  reached  maturity.  This  means  that  the  natural 
balance  between  organ  and  function  in  the  family  is  destroyed,  and  a 
readjustment  involving,  particularly,  the  status  of  the  children  is 
necessary  before  stability  may  again  be  secured.  Of  course,  among 
the  more  fortunate  economic  classes,  a  storm  of  this  sort  may  be  weath- 
ered without  undue  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  individual  members,  but 
these  do  not  form  a  majority  of  the  population.  Again,  some  might 
maintain  that  divorce  or  separation  is  as  serious  a  disintegrating  factor 
as  death  itself,  and  much  could  be  said  in  support  of  this  view.  But, 
except  in  cases  of  desertion,  such  occurrences  are  the  fruitage  of  a  longer 

95 


96 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


or  shorter  process  of  growth,  during  which  adjustments  of  various 
sorts  may  be  contemplated  and  plans  set  in  motion  for  their  realization. 
However,  regardless  of  the  conclusion  on  this  particular  point,  it  is  clear 
that  the  death  of  one  of  the  parents  is  a  serious  matter. 

Returns  on  this  question  were  received  from  all  the  groups  studied. 
The  percentage  of  students  in  the  high  schools  of  the  four  cities  having 
one  or  both  parents  deceased  is  given  by  sex  and  by  city  in  Table  XXXIV. 
According  to  this  table,  12.9  per  cent  of  the  entire  number  of  17,265 
students  have  one  or  both  parents  deceased.  The  mortality  seems  to  be 
much  higher  among  the  fathers  than  among  the  mothers.  This  is 
distinctly  true  in  each  of  the  cities  studied,  and  the  data  for  the  different 
high-school  years  show  the  same  result.  This  is  due  to  the  greater  age 
of  the  fathers  and  to  the  higher  rate  of  mortality  among  men.  Both 
parents  are  deceased  in  slightly  over  i  per  cent  of  the  cases. 

An  examination  of  the  facts  from  the  different  cities  shows  some 
variation.  The  percentage  is  lowest  in  Bridgeport  and  highest  in 
Seattle,  ranging  from  12.3  in  the  former  to  13.4  hi  the  latter.  The 
explanation  apparently  is  to  be  found  in  the  proportion  of  children  of 
high-school  age  attending  high  school.  The  city  maintaining  a  relatively 
large  high-school  enrolment  is,  other  things  being  equal,  likely  to  have 
in  its  high  schools  a  larger  proportion  of  children  handicapped  in  various 
ways  than  the  city  with  the  smaller  proportionate  enrolment.  Evidence 
bearing  on  this  point  will  be  presented  in  other  parts  of  the  chapter. 

TABLE  XXXIV 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  IN  THE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  or  BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON, 

ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE  HAVING  ONE  OR  BOTH  PARENTS  DECEASED. 

DATA  FROM  17,265  CASES 


BRIDGEPORT 

MT.  VERNON 

ST.  Louis 

SEATTLE 

TOTAL 

PARENTAL  MORTALITY 

M 

g 

Ej 

1 

S3 
(/j 

JS 

B 

M 

r 

f. 

5 

JS 

£ 

^ 

v 

& 

JS 

JS 

g 

J3 

0 

O 

0 

o 

o 

o 

o 

o 

0 

O 

o 

pq 

pq 

O 

pq. 

O 

pq 

PQ 

o 

pq. 

pq 

O 

pq 

pq 

Father  deceased  

7.6 

4.9 

6.4 

7-4 

8.8 

8.1 

7.8 

7-5 

7.6 

8.1 

7.0 

7.8 

7.8 

7.3 

7-5 

Mother  deceased  

*•* 

4.4 

4-9 

4-2 

3-4 

3-8 

».i 

3-7 

V8 

4-0 

4-5 

4-7 

4-5 

4.0 

Both  parents  deceased..  .  . 

1.2 

8 

1  .0 

I  .2 

1.2 

I  .2 

i  .6 

.9 

i  .3 

•9 

•  9 

I  .2 

•  9 

i.i 

One  or  both  deceased  ..  .  . 

I4.I 

10.  1 

12.3 

12.8 

13-4 

I3-I 

13-2 

12.  1 

12.7 

13.8 

12.9 

13.4 

13-5 

12.2 

12.9 

The  table  also  shows  important  differences  between  the  sexes.  The 
percentage  of  girls  having  one  or  both  parents  deceased  is  somewhat 
larger  than  the  percentage  of  boys.  This  is  true  hi  each  of  the  cities 
except  Mt.  Vernon,  and  is  to  be  explained  in  the  same  way  as  the  differ- 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES  97 

ences  among  the  cities.  In  every  city,  except  Mt.  Vernon,  the  number  of 
boys  in  high  school  is  appreciably  less  than  the  number  of  girls.  The 
boys  are  consequently  a  more  highly  selected  group  with  the  result  that 
fewer  of  them  are  handicapped  by  the  loss  of  a  parent.  Putting  it  in 
another  way,  from  the  standpoint  of  securing  a  secondary  education, 
the  death  of  a  parent  is  a  more  serious  matter  to  the  boy  than  to  the 
girl.  Apparently  the  burden  of  earning  the  family  livelihood  is  more 
likely  to  fall  on  the  one  than  on  the  other. 

A  fundamental  question  should  be  raised  here.  Does  the  12.9  per 
cent  of  children  in  high  school  who  have  lost  one  or  both  parents  indicate 
that  loss  of  a  parent  diminishes  the  educational  opportunities  of  the 
child?  What  proportion  of  the  children  of  high-school  age  have  lost 
one  or  both  parents  by  death?  This  is  a  rather  difficult  question  to 
answer,  although  an  answer  may  be  approximated  by  using  certain 
data  furnished  by  the  Federal  Census.  We  know  the  average  age  of  the 
high-school  student  and  we  know  the  average  age  of  the  parents  of 
the  student.  Then  assuming  that  the  father  was  alive  a  year  before  the 
child  was  born,  and  taking  from  the  United  States  Life  Tables  the 
mortality  rates  for  the  ages  desired,  it  is  an  easy  task  to  estimate  the 
mortality  of  the  parents  of  children  of  high-school  age.  The  average 
age  of  high-school  students  is  about  sixteen  years  and  the  average  ages 
of  the  fathers  and  mothers  are  approximately  forty-eight  and  forty-three 
years  respectively.  Since  all  the  fathers  were  alive  seventeen  years  and 
all  the  mothers  sixteen  years  before  this  census  of  high-school  students 
was  taken,  it  remains  merely  to  compute  the  mortality  rate  for  the  seven- 
teen- and  sixteen-year  periods  respectively,  beginning  at  thirty-one  years 
for  the  fathers  and  twenty-seven  for  the  mothers.  In  this  way,  after 
making  certain  slight  additional  computations,  it  is  found  that  at  least 
24  per  cent  of  children  of  high-school  age  have  lost  one  or  both  parents 
by  death.  This  is  to  be  compared  With  the  12.9  per  cent  for  high-school 
students.  After  making  due  allowance  for  the  occasional  student  who 
reports  a  step-father  or  step-mother  as  an  actual  parent,  and  for  the  very 
rough  method  of  calculation  just  used,  the  difference  between  these  two 
percentages  is  altogether  striking.  There  is  apparently  a  strong  relation 
between  life  or  death  of  the  parent  and  the  educational  opportunity  of 
the  chUd. 

There  is  much  corroborative  evidence  secured  in  this  investigation 
that  supports  the  conclusions  of  the  previous  paragraph  derived  from 
estimates  and  calculations.  The  change  from  year  to  year  in  the  per- 
centage of  high-school  students  who  have  lost  one  or  both  parents  is 


98 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


shown  in  Table  XXXV.  An  examination  of  this  table  makes  it  clear 
that  this  percentage  changes  very  little  in  passing  from  the  Freshman 
to  the  Senior  year.  The  difference  of  .4  per  cent  between  these  two  years 
is  too  small  to  be  of  any  significance  whatsoever.  Undoubtedly,  during 
the  three  calendar  years  that  separate  the  students  in  these  two  high- 
school  grades,  the  parents  of  these  students  are  not  living  under  a  condi- 
tion of  immunity  from  death.  There  is  no  good  reason  for  believing 
that  this  unwelcome  visitor  passes  over  the  homes  of  high-school  students. 
Assuming  then  that  the  life  tables  apply  to  the  parents  of  these  children 
as  to  other  folk,  and  assuming  further  that  there  is  no  selective  elimina- 
tion of  those  losing  parents,  the  percentage  of  high-school  students 
having  one  or  both  parents  deceased  should  rise  more  than  five  points 
from  the  Freshman  to  the  Senior  year,  or  from  12.7  to  at  least  17.7. 

TABLE  XXXV 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  IN  EACH  YEAR  OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  HAVING  ONE  OR 

BOTH  PARENTS  DECEASED.    DATA  FROM  17,265  CASES  IN  BRIDGEPORT, 

MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  SEATTLE 


High-School 
Year 

Bridgeport 

Mt.  Vernon 

St.  Louis 

Seattle 

Total 

Freshman  .... 
Sophomore.  .  . 
Junior  

10.7 

14-3 
13.8 

14.8 
IO.Q 
12.4 

12.4 
13.0 

12    6 

13-4 
12.8 
12    n 

12.7 
12.9 

13    2 

Senior  

10.8 

14  .O 

13  •  I 

13  -0 

13  .  I 

Total.  .  .  . 

12.3 

I3-1 

12.7 

13-4 

12-9 

In  Mt.  Vernon,  returns  on  this  question  of  mortality  of  parents 
were  secured  from  all  children  in  the  sixth  grade.  Again  assuming  no 
selective  elimination,  the  percentage  of  children  who  have  lost  one  or 
both  parents  should  be  considerably  higher  in  the  high  school  than  in 
the  sixth  grade.  But  such  is  not  the  case.  The  percentage  is  actually 
more  than  two  points  lower  in  the  former  than  in  the  latter,  being  13.1 
and  15.3  respectively.  Reasoning  from  the  life  tables,  the  figure  for  the 
sixth  grade  approximates  the  expectation,  although  it  is  from  i  to  2 
per  cent  lower.  Instead  of  being  lower  for  the  Senior  year  of  the  high 
school  than  for  the  sixth  grade,  it  should  be  seven  or  eight  points  higher. 
The  evidence  here,  therefore,  reflects  very  clearly  the  importance  of  the 
life  of  the  parent  in  promoting  school  attendance. 

The  data  from  the  various  groups  of  children  of  high-school  age  are 
illuminating  in  this  connection.  In  Figure  27  the  group  of  514  children 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES  99 

of  high-school  age  in  Seattle  is  compared  with  the  high-school  population 
of  the  same  city.  Although  the  former  are  on  the  average  slightly 
younger  than  the  latter,  21.7  per  cent  of  the  children  at  work  have  lost  one 
or  both  parents  as  against  but  13.4  per  cent  of  the  high-school  students. 

Children  of  high-school  age  at  work    (21.7) 
Children  in  high  school  (13-4) 

FIG.  27. — Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  two  groups  having  one  or 
both  parents  deceased.  Data  from  514  children  of  high-school  age  at  work  and 
6,387  children  in  high  school.  Seattle,  1910-20. 

The  four  groups  from  Bridgeport  present  an  even  more  striking 
comparison.  Examine  Figure  28  in  which  the  facts  for  the  evening 
high  school,  the  compulsory  continuation  classes,  the  state  trade  school, 
and  the  day  high  school  are  presented  graphically.  In  interpreting  this 
diagram  it  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  students  in  the  trade  school 
are  of  about  the  same  age  as  those  in  the  regular  high  school,  while 
those  in  the  evening  high  school  average  a  year  and  one-half  older,  and 

Evening  high  school  (31.7) 

Continuation  classes  (21.6) 

State  trade  school  (18.2) 

Day  high  school  (12.3) 

FIG.  28. — Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  four  groups  having  one  or 
both  parents  deceased.  Bridgeport,  1920-21. 

the  children  in  the  continuation  classes  are  a  half-year  younger.  With 
these  considerations  in  mind,  the  comparisons  made  in  this  diagram 
take  on  significance.  Practically  one  out  of  every  three  students  in  the 
evening  high  school  has  lost  a  parent.  The  mortality  among  the 
parents  of  this  group  is  more  than  two  and  one-half  times  the  mortality 
among  the  parents  of  high-school  students.  It  should  be  greater  by  3  or 
4  per  cent  because  of  the  age  differences,  but  no  more  than  that. 
Thinking  hi  terms  of  ages,  the  percentage  should  be  higher  for  the  high 
school  than  for  the  continuation  classes,  but  the  reverse  is  true  in  actual 
fact,  to  the  extent  of  more  than  9  per  cent.  Because  of  its  two-year 
course  and  its  practical  bent,  the  trade  school  enrols  a  larger  proportion 


IOO 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


of  children  who  have  been  unfortunate  in  this  respect  than  does  the  high 
school. 

One  other  bit  of  evidence  bearing  on  this  question  is  presented  in 
Table  XXXVI.  In  the  previous  chapter  it  was  pointed  out  that 
between  6  and  7  per  cent  of  the  students  in  the  Freshman  class  do  not 
expect  to  complete  the  course,  according  to  their  own  statements.  In 
three  of  the  cities,  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  and  St.  Louis,  the  relation 
of  this  matter  to  mortality  of  parents  was  worked  out  for  the  first-year 
students,  and  the  results  are  given  in  this  table.  It  will  be  noted  that 
there  is  a  much  larger  percentage  who  have  lost  their  parents  among 

TABLE  XXXVI 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  IN  EACH  OF  Two  GROUPS  HAVING  ONE  OR  BOTH  PARENTS 

DECEASED.    DATA  FROM  4,437  STUDENTS  IN  THE  FRESHMAN  YEAR  OF 

THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  IN  BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON,  AND  ST.  Louis 


• 
Group 

Girls 

Boys 

Both  Sexes 

Students  in  the  Freshman  class  not  expect- 
ing to  complete  the  high-school  course  .  . 
All  students  in  the  Freshman  class  

20.  6 

12.8 

22.1 
II  .0 

21.4 
12.4 

those  who  do  not  expect  to  complete  the  course  than  among  the  students 
of  the  entire  Freshman  class.  To  be  exact,  the  percentages  are  21.4 
and  12.4  respectively.  Furthermore,  this  tendency  is  decidedly  more 
marked  for  the  boys  than  for  the  girls.  Thus,  while  in  the  general 
high-school  population  the  girls  show  a  higher  proportion  having  deceased 
parents  than  the  boys,  in  that  part  of  the  student  body  not  expect- 
ing graduation  the  reverse  is  true.  Both  facts  support  the  conclusion 
that  disorganization  of  the  family  falls  more  heavily  on  the  boy  than 
on  the  girl. 

OCCUPATION   OF   THE   MOTHER 

It  is  well  known  that  in  many  American  families  the  mother  engages 
in  remunerative  labor  outside  the  home  and  in  this  way  contributes  to 
the  family  support.  It  is  clear  that,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  home, 
this  is  a  disintegrating  influence,  or,  at  least,  is  evidence  of  disintegra- 
tion. In  most  cases  the  mother  is  forced  to  carry  this  extra  burden 
because  of  economic  pressure,  and  it  therefore  may  be  ordinarily  regarded 
as  an  indication  of  poverty.  It  is  apparent,  however,  that  this  is  not 
true  in  all  cases,  for  occasional  reports  in  this  study  indicate  that  rare 
instances  of  the  "emancipated"  woman  do  appear.  Some  women  with 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES  IOI 

families  are  demanding  and  are  getting  the  privilege  of  earning  their 
own  livings  in  their  own  ways. 

Data  were  secured  from  the  students  in  the  high  schools  of  all  four 
cities  showing  the  extent  to  which  their  mothers  were  contributing  to 
the  support  of  the  family.  Similar  data  were  also  obtained  from  all 
the  non-high-school  groups  except  the  children  of  high-school  age  at 
work  in  Seattle.  Two  questions  were  asked  each  individual,  the  one 
checking  the  other.  The  returns  are  relatively  complete  and  are 
thought  to  be  accurate. 

Of  the  17,265  high-school  students  included  in  the  study,  1,289  or 
7.5  per  cent  reported  their  mothers  to  be  engaged  in  remunerative 
employment  of  some  kind  outside  the  ordinary  duties  of  the  housewife. 
There  is  some  variation  from  city  to  city.  The  highest  percentage  of 
10.3  is  found  in  Seattle.  Then  follows  Bridgeport  with  6.9,  St.  Louis 
with  5.6,  and  finally,  Mt.  Vernon  with  5.4.  These  differences  are  to  be 


Sixth  grade       (15.6) 


High  school        (5.4) 


FIG.  29. — Showing  the  percentage  of  children  in  the  sixth  grade  and  in  the  high 
school  whose  mothers  are  engaged  in  remunerative  employment.  Mt.  Vernon, 
May,  1921. 

explained  in  terms  of  the  high-school  enrolment  and  the  occupational 
character  of  the  population.  For  example,  the  large  enrolment  in  the 
Seattle  High  School  accounts  for  the  high  percentage  of  working  mothers, 
since  the  deeper  strata  of  the  population  are  reached  by  the  schools. 
Mt.  Vernon,  on  the  other  hand,  also  has  a  relatively  large  proportion 
of  its  children  in  high  school,  but  a  low  percentage  of  working  mothers. 
This  is  probably  due  to  the  exceptional  strength  of  the  middle  classes 
in  this  city. 

The  facts  for  the  successive  high-school  years  show  a  constant 
decrease  in  the  proportion  of  working  mothers  from  the  first  year  to  the 
last.  Thus,  the  percentage  decreases  from  8.9  in  the  Freshman,  to  7.5 
in  the  Sophomore,  6.1  in  the  Junior,  and  5.3  in  the  Senior  year.  This 
change,  to  be  sure,  is  not  startling  but  it  is  large  enough  to  be  significant. 

An  examination  of  the  returns  for  Mt.  Vernon  is  of  special  interest, 
because  of  the  inclusion  of  the  sixth  grade  in  the  study.  In  Figure  29 
a  comparison  of  the  high  school  and  the  sixth  grade  shows  marked 
differences  between  the  two  groups.  The  latter  has  almost  three  tunes 


102          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

as  large  a  proportion  of  working  mothers  as  the  former.  If  this  situation 
is  representative  of  American  cities,  we  may  say  that,  while  it  is  uncom- 
mon for  the  mothers  of  high-school  students  to  contribute  to  the  family 
support  by  engaging  in  remunerative  work,  this  condition  obtains  quite 
frequently  among  the  children  of  the  elementary  school. 

As  a  final  contribution  to  this  topic,  a  comparison  of  the  four  Bridge- 
port groups  is  presented  in  Figure  30.  Again  observe  the  clear  differences 

Continuation  classes  (15.4) 

Evening  high  school  (14.0) 

Trade  school  (12.7) 

Day  high  school  (6.9) 

FIG.  30. — Showing  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  four  groups  whose  mothers 
are  working  at  remunerative  employment.  Bridgeport,  1919-20. 

in  the  social  character  of  the  young  people  brought  together  in 
these  various  schools  and  classes.  At  the  one  extreme  are  the  compul- 
sory continuation  classes  in  which  15.4  per  cent  of  the  mothers  are  work- 
ing outside  the  home,  and  at  the  other,  according  to  expectations,  the 
high  school  with  a  corresponding  percentage  of  but  6.9. 

BROTHERS   AND   SISTERS 

It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  number  of  children  in  the  family 
is  an  important  factor  in  determining  the  richness  of  the  opportunity 
to  be  offered  a  particular  child.  Some  have  advocated  limiting  the 
birth-rate  on  the  grounds  that  fewer  children  mean  greater  advantages 
for  those  who  are  born.  And  the  decreasing  birth-rate  in  wide  sections 
of  the  population  is  one  of  the  most  fundamental  tendencies  in  western 
society  today. 

In  our  investigation,  inquiry  was  made  as  to  the  number  of  brothers 
and  sisters  of  each  child  in  all  the  groups  studied,  except  the  students 
in  one  of  the  Seattle  high  schools  and  the  children  at  work  in  the  same 
city.  The  general  data  for  the  high-school  students  are  presented  in 
Table  XXXVII.  A  glance  at  the  total  number  of  students  having 
each  indicated  number  of  brothers  and  sisters  shows  a  distribution 
definitely  skewed  toward  the  lower  end.  The  most  frequent  number 
of  brothers  and  sisters  is  one,  and  a  large  proportion  of  these  children 
have  none  at  all.  The  medians  also  indicate  that  high-school  students 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES 


103 


come  from  rather  small  families.  By  adding  one  to  the  median,  we 
get  the  number  of  children  in  the  family.  This  would  make  three  the 
median  number  of  children  in  the  families  of  the  students  in  the  high 
schools  of  these  four  cities.  There  is  some  variation  among  the  cities, 
which  is  probably  explained  in  terms  of  the  racial  character  of  the 
population.  Thus,  the  larger  families  in  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon 
are  certainly  due  to  the  influence  of  the  newer  immigrant  stocks,  among 
which  the  birth-rate  is  still  high. 


TABLE  XXXVII 

NUMBER  OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  STUDENTS  IN  FOUR  CITIES  HAVING  EACH  INDICATED 
NUMBER  OF  BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS 


Number  of 
Brothers  and 
Sisters 

Bridgeport 

Mt.  Vernon 

St.  Louis 

Seattle 

Total 

O  

270 

119 

1,294 

696 

2,379 

I  

485 

287 

1,952 

1,212 

3,936 

2  

465 

232 

1,565 

1,036 

3,298 

•z.  . 

376 

177 

1,082 

690 

2,325 

4.  . 

241 

IO2 

712 

49O 

1,545 

e.  . 

1  86 

60 

408 

290 

944 

6  

114 

ct; 

252 

169 

5QO 

7  

59 

18 

139 

97 

313 

8  

3° 

14 

71 

65 

1  80 

Q.  . 

16 

16 

41 

23 

96 

IO  

9 

4 

18 

12 

43 

II 

i 

2 

4 

7 

12  

c 

I 

2 

8 

13  .  . 

14.    . 

I 

i 

Total.  .  .  . 
Median  .  . 

2,257 

2-3 

1,084 

2.  I 

7,537 
1.8 

4,787 
2.0 

15,665 

2.O 

We  see  no  evidence  of  the  elimination  of  the  students  coming 
from  the  larger  families  as  we  pass  from  the  Freshman  to  the  Senior 
year.  An  examination  of  the  facts  shows  that  the  median  number 
of  brothers  and  sisters  for  the  students  in  the  first  year  is  exactly  the 
same  as  it  is  for  those  in  the  last,  namely,  two.  Even  the  very  large 
families  are  as  well  represented  in  the  later  as  in  the  earlier  years. 
Furthermore,  the  proportion  of  "only"  children  remains  constant 
from  year  to  year.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that,  among  those 
elements  in  the  population  which  do  get  their  children  into  the  high 
school,  the  size  of  the  family  is  not  an  important  factor  in  further  influ- 
encing attendance. 


104         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

A  comparison,  however,  of  the  high-school  population  with  the 
pupils  in  the  sixth  grade  in  Mt.  Vernon  does  reveal  some  substantial 
differences.  As  already  stated  in  Table  XXXVII,  the  median  number 
of  brothers  and  sisters  for  the  former  is  2.1.  The  corresponding  figure 
for  the  children  of  the  sixth  grade  is  3.0.  But  this  difference  is  not  to 
be  construed  as  meaning  that  children  are  kept  out  of  high  school  because 
of  membership  in  large  families,  for  the  matter  is  not  quite  so  simple 
as  that.  A  more  reasonable  interpretation  is  that  the  size  of  the  family 
is  being  limited  by  those  classes  in  the  population  from  which  most  of 
the  high-school  students  come. 

Continuation  classes  (4.2) 

Evening  high  school  (3.5) 

Trade  school  (3.0) 

Day  high  school  (2.3) 

FIG.  31. — Showing  median  number  of  brothers  and  sisters  for  the  children  in 
each  of  four  groups.  Bridgeport,  1920-21. 

Data  from  the  three  groups  of  children  in  Bridgeport  of  high-school 
age  not  in  high  school  give  similar  results.  The  medians  for  these 
groups  and  the  students  attending  the  high  school  in  the  same  city  are 
presented  graphically  in  Figure  31.  The  difference  between  the  con- 
tinuation classes  and  the  high  school  is  really  striking,  but  the  interpre- 
tation suggested  in  the  previous  paragraph  in  all  probability  holds 
here.  It  is  becoming  clearer  and  clearer,  however,  that  there  are 
certain  social  strata  that  are  not  reached  by  the  public  high  school. 

ORDER   OF   BIRTH 

Is  the  order  of  birth  a  matter  of  consequence  to  the  child?  In  a 
society  in  which  no  law  of  primogeniture  operates,  is  it  best  to  be  born 
first  or  last?  On  the  basis  of  the  returns  to  the  two  questions — (i) 
How  many  brothers  and  sisters  have  you  ?  and  (2)  How  many  are  older 
than  you? — an  effort  was  made  to  throw  some  light  on  the  matter. 
It  was  found  very  difficult,  however,  to  disentangle  the  various  factors 
involved,  particularly  in  the  study  of  the  high-school  groups  alone, 
because  the  proportion  of  firstborn  children  in  the  high  schools  of  a 
particular  community  is  in  some  measure  a  function  of  population 
movements.  In  a  new  and  rapidly  developing  community,  inhabited 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  FAMILY  INFLUENCES  105 

by  the  younger  generation,  the  proportion  of  firstborn  in  the  high  school 
will  be  disproportionately  large,  because  of  the  youthful  character  of  the 
adult  population.  Many  of  their  firstborn  and  relatively  few  of  their 
lastborn  children  will  be  in  high  school.  We  shall  therefore  merely 
refer  to  the  data  from  Bridgeport  where  the  high-school  population 
may  be  compared  with  other  groups  of  children  of  high-school  age. 

The  results  of  the  study  in  Bridgeport  are  given  in  Table  XXXVIII. 
For  purposes  of  comparison,  the  relation  between  the  firstborn  and  the 
lastborn  is  expressed  in  a  single  figure,  namely,  the  number  of  the  latter 

TABLE  XXXVIII 

NUMBER  or  FIRSTBORN  FOR  EVERY  100  LASTBORN  CHILDREN 

IN  EACH  OF  FOUR  GROUPS  OF  CHILDREN  OF 

HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE  IN  BRIDGEPORT 


High  school   

117 

Trade  school  

121 

Evening  high  school  

ICO 

Continuation  classes  

178 

for  every  one  hundred  of  the  former  in  each  of  the  four  groups.  The 
striking  thing  about  the  table,  perhaps,  is  the  relatively  large  proportion 
of  firstborn  to  lastborn  children.  In  any  total  population  they  ought 
to  be  equal,  since  only  those  families  are  included  in  which  there  are  two 
or  more  children.  In  each  of  such  families  there  is  always  a  firstborn 
and  a  lastborn  child,  even  in  the  case  of  twins.  What  then  is  the 
explanation  of  the  total  situation  in  Bridgeport?  It  is  that  suggested 
in  the  previous  paragraph.  Bridgeport  has  grown  very  rapidly  during 
recent  years;  its  population  is  therefore  relatively  youthful;  and 
consequently,  the  proportion  of  firstborn  among  children  of  high-school 
age  is  considerably  greater  than  that  of  lastborn  children.  The  latter 
have  not  yet  reached  this  age  in  proportionate  numbers.  But  the 
table  shows  wide  differences  among  these  groups.  The  high  school  has 
the  smallest  proportion  of  firstborn  children  and  the  continuation  classes 
have  the  largest.  The  inference  is  clear  that  the  firstborn  children  are 
handicapped  in  the  struggle  of  life.  On  them,  more  than  on  their 
younger  brothers  and  sisters,  falls  the  burden  of  contributing  to  the 
family  support. 


CHAPTER  XII 
THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT 

For  at  least  three-quarters  of  a  century  we,  as  a  nation,  have  faced 
the  problems  arising  from  the  presence  of  a  large  immigrant  population. 
Driven  largely  by  economic  considerations  on  the  one  hand  and  political 
forces  on  the  other,  the  Irish  and  the  Germans  arrived  in  great  numbers  in 
the  decade  from  1845  to  1855.  Since  that  time,  up  to  the  year  of  the 
Great  War,  with  fluctuations  due  to  the  operation  of  various  sociological 
forces,  our  immigration  increased  in  volume  and  complexity.  Gradu- 
ally, as  the  years  passed,  the  proportion  from  the  less  accessible  and 
more  backward  countries  of  southern  and  eastern  Europe  increased, 
until  toward  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  we  began  to  speak  of 
the  "new"  immigration  in  contradistinction  to  the  "old"  from  the 
north  and  west  of  Europe,  which  was  culturally  and  racially  more 
nearly  allied  to  our  own  people.  Today  we  are  peculiarly  conscious 
of  the  difficulties  that  attend  the  union  of  such  diverse  population 
elements. 

In  recent  years  much  has  been  said  and  written  about  the  relation 
of  the  immigrant  to  the  public  school,  and  numerous  investigations 
have  been  made.  Consequently  this  chapter  will  be  cut  down  to  its 
narrowest  limits,  and  is  included  at  all  chiefly  in  the  interests  of  a  more 
complete  sociological  picture.  Yet  there  are  certain  novel  features  of 
this  study  that  will  perhaps  appeal  to  the  reader. 

Data  bearing  on  this  question  were  obtained  in  but  two  of  the  cities, 
Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon.  Because  of  the  small  number  of  children 
of  immigrant  parentage  in  the  schools  of  the  latter,  major  attention  will 
be  given  to  the  former.  Although  information  concerning  the  country 
of  birth  for  each  parent  was  secured,  the  classification  of  the  children 
in  every  instance  follows  the  nativity  of  the  father.  This  simplifies 
the  tabulation  of  the  data  without  detracting  from  the  validity  of  the 
interpretation. 

THE  TOTAL  ENROLMENT 

As  pointed  out  in  an  earlier  chapter,  the  city  of  Bridgeport  has  a 
very  large  and  varied  immigrant  population.  In  Table  XXXIX  the 
2,257  students  hi  the  Bridgeport  High  School  are  classified  according  to 

1 06 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT 


107 


the  father's  country  of  birth.  For  the  sake  of  simplicity  but  ten  divi- 
sions are  used  in  this  classification.  In  each  case  national  units  and 
boundaries  are  recognized  as  they  existed  in  1914,  except  that  Poland 
is  given  distinct  treatment.  All  the  people  from  the  old  Austro- 
Hungarian  Empire  are  grouped  together,  partly  because  the  data  did 
not  in  all  cases  indicate  the  particular  part  of  this  polyglot  empire  from 
which  the  fathers  came.  Under  the  British  Empire  are  included  all 
sections  of  the  empire  peopled  by  the  white  races,  except  Ireland.  This 
has  the  merit  at  least  of  being  satisfactory  to  most  Irishmen  and  many 

TABLE  XXXIX 

NATIVITY  OF  THE  FATHERS  OF  2,257  STUDENTS  IN  THE  BRIDGE- 
PORT HIGH  SCHOOL 


Country  of  Father's  Birth 

Number 

Percentage 

United  States  

i  ,  106 

4Q.O 

Austria-Hungary  

207 

0.2 

British  Empire  (excluding  Ireland)  .  . 
Germany  

155 
«l 

6.9 
2.3 

Ireland  

7-7 

Italy  

IOQ 

4.9 

Poland  

2«i 

I.I 

Russia  

294 

13  .O 

Scandinavia  

1  08 

4-7 

All  others  

28 

I  .  2 

Total  

2.2S7 

IOO.O 

Total  foreign  

1.  151 

?1  .0 

Englishmen,  as  well  as  being  justified  sociologically.  Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Denmark,  following  the  customary  practice,  are  classed  together 
as  Scandinavia.  An  effort  was  made  to  keep  the  Hebrews  separate, 
but  without  success.  They  are  consequently  assigned  to  the  particular 
countries  in  which  they  were  born;  but,  from  the  information  given 
concerning  the  language  spoken  in  the  home,  it  is  evident  that  practically 
all  fathers  born  in  Russia  are  really  Russian  Jews. 

According  to  this  table  the  fathers  of  49  per  cent  of  the  students  in 
the  Bridgeport  High  School  were  born  in  the  United  States.  The 
remaining  51  per  cent  are  of  immigrant  parentage,  and  are  widely  dis- 
tributed over  the  countries  of  Europe,  with  Russia  leading  and  Austria- 
Hungary  occupying  second  place.  But  these  figures  have  no  special 
significance  when  taken  by  themselves.  Let  us,  therefore,  pass  to  some 
comparative  data. 


io8 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


THE   FRESHMAN   AND   SENIOR   YEARS 

A  comparison  of  the  Freshman  and  Senior  years  is  of  interest. 
In  Figure  32  is  shown,  for  each  of  the  groups,  the  number  of  students 
in  the  Senior  year  for  every  one  hundred  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the 
high  school.  At  the  top  stands  Germany  with  61.1,  while  Poland  foots 
the  list  with  but  15.4.  The  United  States  occupies  an  intermediate 


FIG.  32. — Showing  for  each  ethnic  group  the  number  of  students  in  the  Senior 
year  for  every  100  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the  high  school.  Data  from  2,257  cases. 
Bridgeport. 

position.  On  the  whole  the  people  from  the  north  and  west  of  Europe 
make  a  better  showing  than  those  from  the  south  and  east.  The  single 
exception  to  this  generalization  is  the  case  of  Russia,  whose  large  Hebrew 
contingent  is  probably  responsible  for  the  fact  that  the  people  from  this 
section  of  Europe  are  found  in  third  place.  These  conclusions  are 
supported  by  the  data  from  Mt.  Vernon. 

CHILDREN   OF  HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE   NOT   IN  HIGH   SCHOOL 

More  significant  perhaps  than  this  comparison  between  the  Freshman 
and  Senior  years  is  the  comparison  of  the  children  in  high  school  with  the 
three  groups  outside,  already  studied  in  other  connections.  These  are 
the  children  in  the  evening  high  school,  the  trade  school,  and  the  com- 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT 


109 


pulsory  continuation  classes.  The  facts  are  presented  in  Table  XL  in 
percentages.  It  is  observed  at  once  that  children  of  native  parentage 
are  less  well  represented  here  than  in  the  high  school,  while  the  reverse 
is  true  for  the  children  of  immigrants,  taking  them  altogether.  But  an 
examination  of  the  different  immigrant  stocks  reveals  great  variation 
among  them.  A  comparison  of  the  percentages  for  these  three  groups 
with  those  for  the  high  school  given  in  the  previous  table  shows  greater 
proportional  representation  in  the  high  school  for  the  Irish,  Russian 
Jews,  and  Scandinavians.  In  fact  the  Irish  and  the  Russian  Jews  make 
almost  as  good  a  record  as  the  native  stock  with  their  advantageous 


NATIVITY  OF  THE  FATHERS  OF  CHILDREN  IN  EVENING  HIGH  SCHOOL,  TRADE  SCHOOL, 
AND  COMPULSORY  CONTINUATION  CLASSES,  BRIDGEPORT 


fc 

H 
to 

8 

£ 

r? 

Rj 

Group  of  Children 

V 

3 

en 

a  . 

'3. 
W 

.a 

i 

2 

2 
P 

u 

"o 

ja 

§ 

•o 

-a 

c« 

<£ 

P< 

S 

•2 

y) 

8 

• 

j>> 

« 

ffi 

O 

5 

a 

3 

V 

H 

3 

o 

D 

M 

O 

&H 

< 

fe 

Evening  high  school  
Trade  school  

22.6 
22    2 

21.4 
26.3 

7.0 
8.6 

S-8 
5.0 

9-9 

9-S 

4.1 

5  6 

13-6 

6.0 

4.1 
6  6 

2.O 

4  S 

IOO.O 
IOO.O 

243 
198 

Continuation  classes  

17.8 

33-7 

7-5 

1.8 

24.2 

5-9 

3-7 

1-7 

•  5 

IOO.O 

579 

Total  

19.8 

29-3 

7.6 

4-2 

3-8 

18.5 

5-4 

6-5 

3-2 

1-7 

IOO.O 

1,020 

social  and  economic  position.  At  the  other  extreme  are  the  peoples  of 
Austria-Hungary,  the  Italians,  and  the  Poles,  among  whom  the  propor- 
tional representation  is  much  greater  in  the  three  groups  of  children  not 
in  high  school  than  in  the  high-school  population.  Another  interesting 
feature  of  the  table  is  the  much  greater  representation  of  the  Irish  and 
the  Russian  Jews  in  the  evening  high  school  than  in  the  trade  school 
and  the  continuation  classes.  This  indicates  an  unusually  strong  interest 
in  an  academic  education  on  the  part  of  these  races,  as  well  as  exceptional 
energy  and  earnestness  in  the  pursuit  of  educational  opportunity,  since 
voluntary  attendance  at  evening  school  at  best  involves  serious  immedi- 
ate, personal  sacrifice. 

The  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  these  four  Bridgeport  groups 
whose  fathers  were  born  in  the  United  States  is  shown  in  Figure  33. 
Clearly  the  opportunities  of  secondary  education  are  much  more  widely 
distributed  among  children  of  native  parentage  than  among  those  born 
of  immigrants. 


no 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


A  single  set  of  facts  from  Mt.  Vernon  should  be  presented  here. 
Owing  to  the  very  small  numbers  of  children  from  most  of  the  immigrant 
stocks  in  the  schools  of  this  city,  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  make  the 
detailed  analysis  that  has  just  been  made  for  Bridgeport.  There  is 
one  immigrant  group,  however,  that  is  very  well  represented — the 
Italians.  Consequently  in  Table  XLI  is  given  the  number  of  children 
in  the  sixth  grade  and  each  year  of  the  high  school  from  each  of  three 


Day  high  school  (49.0) 

Evening  high  school       (22.6) 
State  trade  school          (22.2) 

Continuation  classes       (17.8) 

FIG.  33. — Showing  the  percentage  of  children  in  each  of  four  groups  whose  fathers 
were  born  in  the  United  States.     Bridgeport. 

groups — the  native  stock,  the  Italians,  and  all  others.  Again,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  the  children  of  native  parentage  make  a  superior  record 
and  that  among  the  other  races  the  children  of  Italian  fathers  have  an 
almost  negligible  representation  in  the  later  high-school  years.  For 
every  one  hundred  children  in  the  sixth  grade  the  native  stock  has  30.2 
in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school;  the  Italians  but  3.5;  and  all  other 
immigrant  groups  20.2. 

TABLE  XLI 

NATIVITY  OF  FATHERS  OF  CHILDREN  IN  THE  MT.  VERNON  SIXTH  GRADE  AND  IN 
EACH  YEAR  OF  THE  MT.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOLS 


Country  of  Father's 
Birth 

Sixth 
Grade 

Freshman 

Sophomore 

Junior 

Senior 

Total 

United  States  

20? 

214 

104 

!?•? 

89 

945 

Italy  

2<?6 

CO 

20 

8 

9 

361 

All  others  

1  88 

132 

99 

60 

38 

517 

Total  

77Q 

42  < 

.  ,22 

2OI 

136 

1,823 

THE   CHOICE   OF   CURRICULA 


It  is  interesting  to  see  how  the  different  racial  groups  respond  to  the 
curricular  opportunities  offered  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School.  Since 
the  curricula  for  the  girls  are  somewhat  different  from  those  for  the  boys, 
the  two  sexes  will  receive  separate  consideration. 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT 


III 


In  Table  XLII  are  presented  the  curricular  choices  of  the  girls, 
grouped  according  to  the  nativity  of  the  father.  For  convenience  hi 
comparison  the  distribution  of  each  group  of  girls  is  expressed  in  per- 
centages. Thus,  of  the  634  girls  whose  fathers  were  born  in  the  United 
States,  24  per  cent  are  pursuing  the  college  preparatory  course,  27  per 
cent  the  normal  course,  etc.  If  we  note  the  percentage  of  girls  from 
each  of  the  groups  pursuing  each  of  the  three  popular  curricula,  some 
rather  pronounced  differences  will  be  observed.  The  tendency  for 
girls  of  native  parentage  to  enter  the  college  preparatory  course  is 

TABLE  XLII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  GIRLS  IN  EACH  GROUP  PURSUING  EACH  OF  THE  CURRICULA  OPEN 

TO  GIRLS  IN  THE  BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL.    GIRLS  GROUPED 

ACCORDING  TO  NATIVITY  OF  FATHERS 


Curriculum 

United  States 

Austria-Hungary 

British  Empire 

Germany 

•o 
1 

X 

1 

.  -o 

1 

1 

M 

Scandinavia 

All  Others 

1 

All  Foreign 

College  

24 

18 

22 

14 

7 

s 

17 

23 

g 

27 

21 

16 

Normal  

27 

23 

36 

25 

40 

-tt 

25 

21 

24 

20 

27 

28 

47 

54 

42 

57 

52 

67 

=>o 

55 

tt 

53 

50 

54 

2 

I 

1 

5 

2 

Total  

100 

100 

IOO 

IOO 

zoo 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

Number  of  cases  

634 

97 

88 

28 

IOO 

43 

12 

145 

58 

IS 

1,220 

586 

apparently  considerably  stronger  than  among  girls  of  foreign  parentage. 
Yet  among  certain  of  the  immigrant  groups,  especially  the  Russian  Jews 
and  the  people  of  the  British  Empire,  excluding  Ireland,  the  proportion 
to  be  found  in  this  curriculum  is  almost  as  large  as  it  is  for  the  native 
stock.  The  Italians  and  the  Irish  are  representative  of  the  other 
extreme.  The  latter  incline  rather  strongly  toward  the  normal  course. 
In  fact  40  per  cent  of  the  Irish  girls  are  planning  to  teach.  The  Russian 
Jews,  on  the  other  hand,  show  the  least  inclination  hi  this  direction. 
It  is  a  fact  worthy  of  attention  in  this  connection  that  this  curriculum 
is  attracting  a  slightly  larger  percentage  of  the  immigrant  than  of  the 
native  stock.  The  commercial  course  is  also  somewhat  more  attractive 
to  the  former,  probably  because  of  their  lower  social  and  economic  level. 
Two-thirds  of  the  Italian  girls  are  enrolled  in  this  course.  Yet  in 
Bridgeport,  hi  every  one  of  these  groups,  the  percentage  hi  the  commer- 


112 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


cial  course  is  larger  than  that  to  be  found  in  any  one  of  the  other 
curricula. 

It  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  the  boys  from  these  different 
groups  behave  somewhat  as  the  girls  do,  but  such  is  not  the  case,  as  a 
glance  at  Table  XLIII  shows.  In  contrasting  the  boys  of  native 
parentage  with  those  of  immigrant  stock,  it  will  suffice  to  confine  our 
attention  to  but  two  of  the  curricula,  the  college  preparatory  and  the 
scientific.  No  significant  differences  appear  in  the  choice  of  the  other 
curricula.  Throwing  all  the  immigrant  groups  together  it  will  be 

TABLE  XLIII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  BOYS  IN  EACH  GROUP  PURSUING  EACH  or  THE  CURRICULA  OPEN 

TO  BOYS  IN  THE  BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL.    BOYS  GROUPED 

ACCORDING  TO  NATIVITY  OF  FATHERS 


tf 

Si 

c 

a 

oJ 

Curriculum 

1 

VI 

K 

W 

>, 

'§ 

2 

$ 

•o 

.5 

J3 

I 

•o 

13 

cd 

• 

J 

B 

.a 

1 

^ 

i 

"35 

d 

6 

"3 

fi 

•y 

3 

•c 

W 

n 

•rt 

I 

3 

cd 

•s 

& 

< 

o 

A 

w 

PH 

M 

W 

•? 

H 

< 

College  

23 

47 

26 

18 

4° 

36 

61 

59 

16 

31 

4 

6 

IO 

7 

8 

8 

15 

15 

18 

17 

19 

18 

9 

g 

General     

5 

3 

3 

3 

i 

8 

8 

Scientific   

S3 

29 

43 

61 

34 

35 

31 

30 

68 

23 

44 

37 

Total     

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

IOO 

Number  of  cases  

472 

no 

67 

23 

74 

66 

13 

149 

SO 

13 

1,037 

S6S 

observed  that  the  college  course  is  much  more  and  the  scientific  course 
much  less  popular  among  these  boys  than  among  those  of  native  parent- 
age. This  tendency  to  choose  the  college  course  is  especially  strong 
among  the  immigrants  from  the  south  and  east  of  Europe,  including 
the  Russian  Jews.  On  the  other  hand,  certain  of  the  peoples  from  the 
north  and  west,  notably  the  Scandinavians  and  the  Germans  and 
representatives  of  the  British  Empire  in  smaller  measure,  exhibit  the 
American  inclination  toward  the  scientific  course.  It  is  difficult  to  give 
an  explanation  of  these  differences  since  both  of  these  curricula  are 
primarily  college  preparatory.  Apparently  some  of  these  groups  are 
captivated  by  the  name,  at  least  in  so  far  as  the  boys  are  concerned. 

BOYS   AND   GIRLS 

It  is  well  known  that  there  are  more  girls  than  boys  in  the  American 
high  school,  there  being  only  about  85  boys  to  every  100  girls  for  the 
country  as  a  whole.  This  greater  tendency  for  the  girls  to  attend  high 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  IMMIGRANT  113 

school,  however,  is  not  characteristic  of  all  the  immigrant  groups. 
Examine  Table  XLIV  in  which  the  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  is  given  for  each 
of  the  groups.  Among  those  students  whose  fathers  were  born  in  the 
United  States  there  are  but  74.4  boys  to  every  100  girls.  In  the  case  of 
the  Italians,  on  the  other  hand,  the  ratio  is  153.5,  and  the  boys  are  in 

TABLE  XLIV 

NUMBER  OF  BOYS  TO  100  GIRLS  IN  BRIDGEPORT  HIGH 

SCHOOL.    STUDENTS  GROUPED  ACCORDING  TO  NATIVITY 

OF  FATHER.    DATA  FROM  2,257  CASES 


Country  of  Father's  Birth 

No.  Boys  to 
loo  Girls 

United  States  

74..  4. 

Austria-Hungary  

IH.S 

British  Empire  

76.1 

Germany  

82   I 

Ireland  

74.  0 

Italy  

IS3.  <; 

Poland  

108.3 

Russia  

102.8 

Scandinavia  

86  2 

All  others  

86  7 

Total  

8^.0 

All  foreign  

0.4. 

the  majority  in  three  other  groups — the  people  of  Austria-Hungary, 
the  Poles,  and  the  Russians.  Again  is  to  be  noted  the  cleavage  between 
the  north  and  west  and  the  south  and  east  of  Europe.  The  people 
from  the  former  exhibit  the  American  trait  of  sending  the  girls  to  high 
school,  while  those  from  the  latter  seemingly  are  less  inclined  to  regard 
a  secondary  education  as  necessary  for  girls. 


CHAPTER  XIII 
THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  negroes  do  not  patronize  the  secon- 
dary schools  of  the  country  in  large  numbers.  The  reports  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  in  so  far  as  they  present  separate  data  for 
negroes,  indicate  a  large  amount  of  retardation  and  relatively  early 
elimination  for  the  race  as  a  whole.  Commenting  on  this  matter  the 
Biennial  Survey  of  Education  for  1916-18  by  the  Bureau  of  Education 
makes  the  following  summary  statement:  "In  short,  over  seven  times 
as  great  a  proportion  of  white  pupils  as  colored  pupils  are  to  be  found 
in  secondary  schools  of  the  South." 

The  causes  of  this  situation  are  undoubtedly  complex,  reaching  far 
back  into  the  history  and  the  nature  of  the  negro.  And  no  claim  is 
put  forward  here  of  a  complete  explanation.  Some  interesting  facts, 
however,  have  come  to  light  that  have  at  least  some  bearing  on  the 
question. 

Since  the  number  of  negroes  in  Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon,  and  Seattle 
is  negligible,  no  reference  will  be  made  in  this  chapter  to  data  collected 
from  these  cities.  St.  Louis,  on  the  other  hand,  as  the  population 
statistics  already  given  show,  does  have  a  considerable  negro  population. 
Following  the  custom  of  the  South  this  city  maintains  a  dual  system 
of  education  for  the  white  and  colored  races,  extending  into  the  secondary 
field.  One  of  the  six  St.  Louis  high  schools,  Sumner,  is  a  negro  high 
school.  It  is  extraorinarily  well  attended,  with  an  enrolment  of  over 
eight  hundred.  In  fact,  in  proportion  to  the  number  residing  in  St. 
Louis,  the  negroes  have  as  large  an  attendance  in  the  public  high  schools 
as  the  whites.  This  is  a  remarkable  showing,  and  it  adds  some  interest 
to  this  part  of  the  study. 

Seven  hundred  and  twenty-seven  students  in  the  high  school  filled 
out  the  information  card.  While  this  was  not  the  total  enrolment,  it 
did  include  practically  all  who  were  present  on  the  day  this  census  was 
taken.  The  distribution  of  these  young  people  according  to  sex  and  year 
in  the  high  school  is  given  in  Table  XLV.  It  will  be  observed  that  there 
are  almost  twice  as  many  girls  as  boys.  This  seems  to  be  characteristic 
of  negroes  generally,  as  it  accords  with  the  facts  presented  in  the  reports 
of  the  Bureau  of  Education  and  some  other  studies  that  have  been 

114 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO 


made.    As  already  noted,  this  is  a  cultural  trait  peculiar  to  the  civiliza- 
tion of  America  and  the  north  and  west  of  Europe. 

TABLE  XLV 

DISTRIBUTION  BY  SEX  AND  YEAR  IN  HIGH  SCHOOL  OF  727  STUDENTS  IN  THE  SUMNEK 
(COLORED)  HIGH  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  Louis 


Sex 

Freshman 

Sophomore 

Junior 

Senior 

Total 

Girls  

177 

lie 

IO? 

01 

484 

Boys  

IO2 

66 

32 

4« 

243 

Total.  .  .  . 

275 

181 

137 

134 

727 

FATHER'S  OCCUPATION 

Naturally  these  colored  children  would  be  expected  to  present  an 
occupational  representation  quite  different  from  that  of  the  white 
children  and  characteristic  of  their  race.  Only  slowly  and  against  the 
most  gigantic  obstacles  have  the  negroes  been  working  their  way  upward 
through  the  several  occupational  levels  since  their  emancipation  from 
slavery  less  than  three  generations  ago.  At  present  the  great  majority 
of  the  members  of  this  race  in  our  cities  are  engaged  in  occupations 
requiring  little  skill.  Their  history  has  associated  them  with  personal 
service.  Since  they  own  relatively  little  property  few  are  found  in 
those  occupations  which  are  based  on  its  ownership,  such  as  the  proprie- 
tary and  managerial  callings.  Furthermore,  owing  to  a  distinctly 
limited  demand  for  professional  service  within  the  race,  the  number  so 
engaged  is  small. 

The  occupations  of  the  fathers  of  these  727  students  are  shown  in 
Table  XLVI.  According  to  the  facts  here  presented,  as  might  be 
expected,  personal  service  has  the  greatest  representation,  including 
22  per  cent,  almost  one-fourth  of  the  total  number.  Common  labor 
is  second,  and  the  machine  trades  third.  It  is  perhaps  surprising  to 
find  the  clerical  occupations  occupying  the  fourth  place,  but  this  may 
be  explained  in  terms  of  politics,  since  approximately  three-fourths 
of  them  are  mail  clerks.  Professional  service  is  also  represented  in 
larger  measure  than  might  be  expected.  It  should  be  remembered, 
however,  that  this  type  of  service  is  not  quite  so  rigid  in  its  meaning  as 
among  the  white  population.  Neither  are  the  lines  between  occupations 
drawn  so  clearly.  This  fact  is  brought  out  by  noting  the  composition 
of  the  several  high-school  years  through  data  not  presented  in  this 


n6 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


table.  The  tendency  noted  again  and  again  of  certain  of  the  occupa- 
tional groups  to  maintain  themselves  in  the  high  school  is  not  apparent 
here.  The  proprietors  and  professionals,  for  example,  are  no  better 

TABLE  XLVI 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE    FATHERS   or   727   STUDENTS  IN  THE   SUMNER   (COLORED) 
HIGH  SCHOOL  OF  ST.  Louis 


Parental  Occupation 

Number 

Percentage 

Proprietors   .        ... 

21 

2  Q 

Professional  service 

48 

6  6 

Managerial  service  

18 

C.  2 

Commercial  service  

II 

I.  "> 

Clerical  service.  .                    < 

cy 

7   0 

Agricultural  service 

7Q 

4    I 

Artisan-proprietors  

28 

1.8 

Building  trades  

24. 

2  .  -I 

Machine  trades 

66 

0.  I 

Printing  trades  

2 

.  3 

Miscellaneous  trades  

16 

2.  2 

Transportation  service 

48 

6.6 

Public  service  

c 

.7 

Personal  service  

1  60 

22.  0 

Miners,  lumber-  workers,  fishermen  

6 

.8 

Common  labor  

9° 

12.4 

Unknown  

77 

10.6 

Total  ....                                      /.... 

727 

IOO.O 

represented  in  the  Senior  than  in  the  Freshman  year.  The  only  excep- 
tion to  the  forgoing  general  statement  is  found  in  the  case  of  common 
labor,  which  does  exhibit  the  same  traits  as  among  the  whites,  but  to  a 
less  marked  degree. 

FAMILY  INFLUENCES 

The  negro  family  is  not  noted  for  its  stability,  and  there  are  probably 
few  factors  of  more  importance  in  determining  high-school  attendance 
than  the  character  of  the  family.  Although  it  would  be  highly  desirable 
to  present  data  here  dealing  with  the  negro  family  in  its  varied  aspects, 
this  is  not  possible.  Information  was  secured  only  on  a  few  items. 
These,  however,  will  be  found  to  be  significant. 

The  first  and  most  important  matter  pertains  to  the  mortality  of  the 
parents.  Obviously  the  death  of  one  of  the  parents  is  a  most  serious 
matter  in  the  life  of  the  child,  particularly  among  those  classes  of  the 
population  whose  standard  of  living  approximates  the  margin  of  exist- 
ence. In  Table  XL VII  the  facts  for  the  students  attending  the  Sumner 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO 


117 


High  School  are  compared  with  those  for  the  students  attending  the 
other  St.  Louis  high  schools.  And  in  Figure  34  the  totals  for  the  negro 
and  white  children  are  contrasted.  According  to  the  facts  presented  in 
this  table  27.9  per  cent  of  the  negro  children  come  from  homes  in  which 
one  or  both  parents  are  dead.  This  is  more  than  one  in  every  four 
students  and  is  over  twice  the  rate  for  the  children  of  white  parentage. 
The  difference  between  the  two  races  is  more  marked  hi  the  loss  of  the 

TABLE  XL VII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  STUDENTS  IN  THE  COLORED  AND  WHITE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  ST.  Louis 
HAVING  ONE  OR  BOTH  PARENTS  DECEASED 


High  School 

Father 
Deceased 

Mother 
Deceased 

Both  Parents 
Deceased 

Total 

Sumner  High  School  (colored) 

12    8 

IO   O 

C      T 

27    O 

Other  St.  Louis  high  schools  (white)  . 

7-6 

3-8 

i-3 

12.7 

mother  than  in  the  loss  of  the  father;  while  the  greatest  contrast  is 
seen  in  the  loss  of  both  parents,  the  rate  for  the  negroes  here  being  four 
times  that  for  the  whites.  The  high  mortality  rate  among  the  negroes 
has  long  been  noted.  It  is  probably  a  function  of  their  standard  of 
living  and  mode  of  life.  But  its  bearing  on  educational  opportunity 

Negro        (27.9) 

White         (is.?) 

FIG.  34. — Comparing  the  negro  and  white  high-school  students  in  St.  Louis  with 
respect  to  the  percentage  having  one  or  both  parents  deceased. 

has  not  received  adequate  recognition.  Clearly  this  is  an  important 
consideration  in  a  social  order  where  large  responsibilities  for  the  educa- 
tion of  the  children  still  rest  on  the  home. 

Another  significant  measure  of  the  integrity  of  the  home  is  found 
hi  the  occupation  of  the  mother.  Is  the  mother  helping  to  support  the 
family  by  working  at  some  form  of  remunerative  employment  outside 
the  home  ?  Here  again,  in  Figure  35,  the  negro  and  white  students  in 
the  St.  Louis  high  schools  are"  compared.  And,  again,  the  unfavorable 
position  of  the  former  is  noted.  Over  30  per  cent  of  the  negro  mothers 
are  helping  to  support  the  family,  whereas  only  5.6  per  cent  of  the 
mothers  of  the  white  children  are  so  engaged.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  no 


n8 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


occupational  group  among  the  latter  even  approches  the  negroes  in  this 
matter.  As  might  be  expected,  the  common  laborers  present  a  record 
nearest  that  of  the  negroes,  but  even  here  only  13  per  cent  of  the 
mothers  are  helping  to  support  the  family. 


Negro         (30.3) 


White 


(5-6) 


FIG.  35. — Showing  percentage  of  negro  and  white  children  in  St.  Louis  high 
schools  whose  mothers  are  engaged  in  remunerative  employment. 

The  size  of  the  family  from  which  the  high-school  students  come 
is  almost  the  same  for  the  two  races,  if  we  think  in  terms  of  medians. 
For  the  negroes  the  median  number  of  children  in  the  family  is  3.1;  for 
the  whites  it  is  2.8.  The  distribution  of  the  size  of  the  family  for  the 
two  races,  however,  is  somewhat  different,  as  is  shown  in  Figure  36. 


3° 


-w      20 


\Vhhe 
Neg  ro 


I        2       3        4        5        6       7       8       g      10     ii      12      13      14 
Number  of  Children 

FIG.  36. — Comparing  whites  and  negroes  with  respect  to  size  of  family  from  which 
the  high-school  students  come.  St.  Louis. 

The  curve  for  the  negroes  is  a  peculiar  one.  It  shows  the  most  frequent 
number  of  children  per  family  to  be  one.  Whether  this  curve  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  negroes  hi  St.  Louis  or  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  the 
operation  of  a  selective  principle  in  the  high-school  population,  it  is 
impossible  to  say. 

CHOICE  OP  CURRICULA 

The  children  in  the  Sumner  High  School  are  offered  practically  the 
same  choice  of  curricula  as  the  children  in  the  other  St.  Louis  high 
schools.  In  view  of  the  difference  already  noted  in  the  social  composition 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO 


I IQ 


and  occupational  outlook  of  the  two  races,  it  would  be  natural  to  expect 
the  negro  children  to  exhibit  distinctive  traits  in  the  selection  of  courses. 
It  will  be  interesting  to  survey  the  facts. 

Table  XL VIII  presents  the  curricular  choices  of  the  484  negro 
girls  in  comparison  with  corresponding  data  from  3,978  girls  of  white 
parentage.  The  facts  are  given  in  percentages  to  make  the  comparison 
easy.  An  examination  of  the  table  will  show  that  there  are  just  two 
points  at  which  the  two  races  exhibit  sharp  differences.  In  the  first 
place,  the  four-year  home  economics  course  appears  to  be  actually 


TABLE  XLVIII 

PERCENTAGE  OF  GIRL  STUDENTS  IN  THE  COLORED  AND  WHITE 

HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  ST.  Louis  PURSUING  THE 

DIFFERENT  CURRICULA 


Curriculum 

Negro 

White 

Four-year  general  *.  . 

4.2.4 

44.  1 

Four-year  scientific  

.6 

.6 

Four-year  commercial  

23.  6 

21    6 

Four-year  home  economics.         .... 

•ZQ  4 

9c 

Four-year  classical  

I  .O 

Four-year  fine  arts  

1.6 

3.6 

Two-year  commercial  

A 

18.? 

Two-year  home  economics     ... 

4 

One-year  commercial  

.  7 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

popular  among  these  colored  girls,  over  30  per  cent  of  them  taking  it. 
This  is  the  only  group  discovered  in  the  four  cities  that  seems  to  be 
interested  in  this  course.  It  might  be  explained  on  the  grounds  that 
these  girls  are  preparing  for  personal  service,  but  data  to  be  presented 
later  indicate  that  only  one  of  the  484  girls  displays  any  intention  of 
entering  this  occupation  following  graduation  from  high  school.  In  the 
second  place,  the  two-year  commercial  course  is  distinctly  unpopular 
among  these  girls.  Among  the  girls  of  white  parentage,  on  the  other 
hand,  this  course  draws  more  students  than  any  other  course  during  the 
first  and  second  years,  except  the  general  course,  which  points  particu- 
larly to  college.  This  difference  may  be  due  in  part  to  inferior  opportu- 
nities to  enter  into  the  clerical  occupations  on  the  part  of  colored  girls. 
Perhaps,  after  all,  the  surprising  thing  about  the  facts  presented  in 
this  table  is  that  both  races  register  practically  the  same  proportion  of 


120 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


the  girls  in  the  general  course.  This  indicates  a  strong  college  tradition 
in  the  Sumner  High  School,  as  well  as  in  the  other  high  schools  of  the 
city. 

Among  the  boys  the  differences  are  more  pronounced  than  among 
the  girls,  as  a  glance  at  Table  XLLX  will  prove.  This  is  somewhat 
surprising  because,  among  the  whites,  the  girls  appear  to  be  more  bound 
by  the  occupational  group  from  which  they  come  than  are  the  boys. 

TABLE  XLIX 

PERCENTAGE  OF  BOY  STUDENTS  IN  THE  COLORED  AND  WHITE 

HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  ST.  Louis  PURSUING  THE 

DIFFERENT  CURRICULA 


Curriculum 

Negro 

White 

Four-year  general  

14.  0 

42.  1 

Four-year  scientific   

O.  ? 

0.4 

Four-year  commercial  

2O.  2 

12.  2 

Four-year  manual  training  

«4.  7 

21..  Q 

Four-year  classical    

.8 

Four-year  fine  arts  

1  .  2 

1  .  2 

Two-year  commercial  

.4 

C.  3 

Two-year  manual  training  

4-  7 

Two-year  printing                

.  -i 

One-year  commercial  

.  i 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

There  the  boys  tend  to  break  over  the  class  lines,  while  the  girls  conform 
to  them.  Only  a  small  percentage  of  the  colored  boys  are  pursuing  the 
general  curriculum,  in  which  are  enrolled  42  per  cent  of  the  white  boys. 
The  four-year  manual  training  course,  on  the  other  hand,  is  extremely 
popular  with  the  negroes.  Almost  55  per  cent  of  them  are  taking  it. 
The  four-year  commercial  course  is  also  much  more  popular  among  them 
than  among  the  whites.  The  various  short  courses  appeal  to  the  boys 
of  neither  race. 

EXPECTATIONS  FOLLOWING  GRADUATION 

Perhaps  just  as  significant  as  the  curriculum  chosen,  if  not  more  so, 
is  the  statement  of  expectations  of  the  students  following  graduation. 
To  be  sure,  little  weight  can  be  attached  to  these  statements  as  indexes 
of  what  these  boys  and  girls  will  actually  do  when  they  leave  the  high 
school.  In  truth,  the  evidence  is  quite  strong  in  the  other  direction, 
namely,  that  many  of  them  will  not  do  that  which  they  say  they  will  do. 
But,  as  an  index  of  the  traditions  and  atmosphere  of  the  school,  these 
statements  undoubtedly  have  weight. 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO 


121 


A  glance  at  Table  L  shows  quite  conclusively  that  at  least  according 
to  their  statements  the  negro  girls  are  not  intending  to  enter  the  occupa- 
tions in  which  their  parents  are  engaged.  Apparently  they  plan  to 
attend  college  in  proportionately  larger  numbers  than  do  their  white 
sisters.  They  are  likewise  attracted  to  the  normal  school  in  such 
numbers  as  to  set  at  rest  any  fear  among  the  champions  of  education  lest 
the  colored  schools  be  closed  for  lack  of  teachers.  It  should  also  be 


TABLE  L 

EXPECTATIONS    FOLLOWING    GRADUATION    OF    GIRLS    IN 
COLORED  AND  WHITE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  ST.  Louis 


THE 


t 

Expectations 

Negro 

White 

College  

7c.  7 

77.  7 

Normal  school  

26.  2 

7.7 

Business  college  

2  .  I 

4..  2 

Other  school  

2.Q 

1.6 

Travel  

.  i 

Home  

i  6 

Professional  service  

17.  c 

4-.Q 

Commercial  service  

.  2 

.  2 

Clerical  service  

ii.  6 

TO.  7, 

Industrial  service  

I    c 

e 

Personal  service  

2 

Work  

2    4. 

1      2 

Undecided  

7.  I 

14.8 

Total  percentage  

IOO.O 

IOO   O 

noted  that  many  of  those  mentioning  the  college  as  their  immediate 
objective,  intend  ultimately  to  enter  the  teaching  profession.  And  the 
13.5  per  cent  grouped  under  professional  service  includes  a  large  propor- 
tion who  are  expecting  to  begin  teaching  with  only  the  high-school 
training.  Clearly  teaching  is  attractive  to  these  young  people.  The 
profession  still  retains  the  prestige  which  it  has  lost  among  members  of 
the  other  race.  A  summary  inspection  of  the  table  shows  that  the 
occupational  interest  which  dominates  this  group  of  negro  girls  is  the 
professional,  and  that  they  are  hoping  the  high  school  will  provide  a 
means  of  escape  from  the  wage-earning  class  from  which  they  come  and 
back  to  which  most  of  them  will  probably  have  to  go. 

The  negro  boys  also  are  intent  on  a  higher  education.  This  is  seen 
in  Table  LI.  According  to  their  statements  63  per  cent  of  these  boys 
are  planning  to  attend  college.  This  is  almost  12  per  cent  greater  than 
for  the  boys  of  white  parentage.  A  second  interesting  feature  of  the 
table  is  the  relatively  large  proportion  of  colored  boys  looking  toward 


122 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


the  industrial  occupations.  But  this  is  absolutely  quite  small,  amounting 
to  only  8.7  per  cent.  A  third  point  of  interest  is  the  smaller  proportion 
of  negroes  who  are  undecided.  A  glance  at  the  preceding  table  shows 
this  to  be  true  of  the  girls  as  well  as  the  boys. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  this  brief  and  somewhat  superficial 
study  of  the  population  of  a  single  negro  high  school  throws  some  light 
on  the  relation  of  the  negro  to  our  secondary  schools.  His  relative 

TABLE  LI 

EXPECTATIONS    FOLLOWING    GRADUATION    OF    BOYS    IN    THE 
COLORED  AND  WHITE  HIGH  SCHOOLS  or  ST.  Louis 


Expectations 

t 

Negro 

White 

College  

6?.O 

11.4 

Business  college  

.  e 

Other  school  

4.6     - 

2.  2 

Travel  

•  4 

.  I 

Farming  

.4 

.4 

Professional  service  

I.  2 

I.O 

Commercial  service  

.8 

3.2 

Clerical  service  

e.  2 

S.  S 

Industrial  service  

8.7 

2.6 

Public  service  

.  I 

Personal  service                            .... 

8 

Transportation  service  

.  3 

Work  

7.8 

16.7 

Undecided  

7.0 

16.0 

Total  percentage  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

absence  of  interest  in  the  high  school  is  rather  easy  to  understand. 
As  a  race  the  negroes  are  engaged  in  occupations  which  require  little 
skill,  for  which  the  remuneration  is  low,  and  whose  respectability  is  not 
high.  Their  standard  of  living  is  also  low,  and  the  home  is  not  the 
center  of  stimulation  and  inspiration  that  it  is  among  other  groups  in 
the  population.  The  family  is  notoriously  unstable  because  of  the 
absence  of  those  traditions  that  would  give  it  stability.  The  high 
mortality  of  the  race  also  acts  as  a  disorganizing  and  disintegrating 
force  in  many  negro  homes.  Taking  into  consideration  these  various 
influences,  the  attendance  at  the  Sumner  High  School  in  St.  Louis  is 
little  short  of  marvelous.  These  young  people  are  carrying  on  a  struggle 
for  secondary  education  that  is  really  unique  in  the  annals  of  American 
education.  The  obvious  handicaps  under  which  they  are  striving  can 
be  duplicated  by  few  social  groups  in  this  country  today  outside  their 
own  race.  The  present  study  shows  no  group  within  the  white  popula- 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  NEGRO  123 

tion  in  the  four  cities  investigated  waging  the  fight  so  successfully  and 
against  such  tremendous  odds,  as  is  the  negro  population  of  St.  Louis. 
Those  elements  of  the  white  population  that  might  be  regarded  as 
approximating  the  negroes  in  standard  of  living,  social  tradition,  and  the 
general  organization  of  life  are  very  far  from  doing  as  well.  The  children 
from  these  groups  hardly  get  into  the  high  school  at  all.  It  is  very 
doubtful  if,  outside  the  negro  populations  of  a  very  few  of  the  large  cities 
midway  between  the  north  and  south,  such  as  Washington,  there  is  any 
population  group  within  the  nation"  that  is  doing  so  much  to  send  its 
children  to  high  school  as  are  the  negroes  of  St.  Louis. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELECTION 

It  has  been  made  clear  in  the  earlier  chapters  that  the  student 
population  of  the  public  high  school  is  sociologically  highly  selected. 
It  remains  to  consider  briefly  the  question  of  psychological  selection — 
briefly  because  this  does  not  constitute  the  central  part  of  the  study 
and  because  much  has  been  done  in  this  field  in  recent  years. 

Psychological  tests  were  given  to  the  four  groups  of  children  in 
Bridgeport  and  to  the  students  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  in 
Mt.  Vernon.  In  the  former  city  the  Chapman-Welles  Junior  and 
Senior  High  School  Classification  Test  was  used  and  in  the  latter  the 
National  Intelligence  Tests,  Scale  B,  Form  i.  We  shall  now  examine 
the  data  secured  from  these  two  cities,  giving  special  attention  to  the 
data  from  Bridgeport,  because  of  the  more  comprehensive  study  made 
there. 

CHILDREN   OF   HIGH-SCHOOL  AGE   IN  HIGH   SCHOOL  AND   OUT 

The  median  scores  made  by  the  girls  and  boys  in  each  of  the  high- 
school  years  in  Bridgeport  are  given  in  Table  LII.  Although  the  facts 
in  this  table,  apart  from  a  comparison  with  data  from  the  other  groups 

TABLE  LII 

MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  BY  GIRLS  AND  BOYS  IN  EACH  YEAR  OF 
THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  IN  BRIDGEPORT — CHAPMAN- 
WELLES  TEST.    DATA  FROM  2,537  CASES 


High-School  Year 

Girls 

Boys 

Freshman   

72.  O 

8o.7 

Sophomore  

Q0.8 

101.8 

Junior  

95-4 

no.  7 

Senior   

oo  .  2 

ii?.  8 

Number  of  cases          

i  ,362 

I  ,I7C 

studied  in  this  city,  are  of  no  great  significance  to  this  study,  there  are 
several  points  of  interest  to  be  noted.  The  median  score  increases 
noticeably  in  the  succsessive  years  of  the  high  school,  yet  for  bpth 
sexes  the  most  pronounced  difference  occurs  between  the  Freshman  and 
Sophomore  years.  This  may  be  due  to  disproportionate  elimination 

124 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELECTION       125 


at  this  point  in  the  high  school,  but  more  probably  to  the  fact  that  the 
test  is  not  well  adapted  to  measuring  differences  among  the  more  mature 
students  in  the  later  high-school  years.  It  is  also  observed  that  the 
median  score  for  the  boys  is  in  each  case  appreciably  higher  than  that 
for  the  girls.  It  seems  probable  that  this  is  likewise  to  be  explained  in 
terms  of  the  organization  of  the  test. 

But  it  is  the  comparison  with  these  other  groups  of  children  of 
high-school  age  that  interests  us.  These  comparative  scores  are  pre- 
sented in  Table  LIII.  No  score  is  given  for  the  girls  in  the  first  year  of 

TABLE  LIII 

MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  BY  GIRLS  AND  BOYS  IN  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL, 
THE  EVENING  HIGH  SCHOOL,  THE  FIRST  YEAR  OF  THE  TRADE  SCHOOL,  AND  THE 
COMPULSORY  CONTINUATION  CLASSES  IN  BRIDGEPORT — CHAPMAN -WELLES 
TEST 


Group 

Girls 

Boys 

Number 
of  Cases 

First  year  high  school  

72.9 

80.7 

OIO 

Evening  high  school   

6o.O 

78.1 

181 

First  year  trade  school   

62.0 

112 

Continuation  classes          

20.  1 

4O   0 

A.21 

the  trade  school  because  the  number  of  cases  was  entirely  too  small  to 
insure  reliability.  The  outstanding  fact  in  the  table  is  that,  speaking 
in  terms  of  medians,  the  children  in  the  Freshman  year  of  the  high  school 
are  distinctly  superior  to  those  in  the  other  groups.  And  in  the  case  of 

First  year  high  school  (89.7) 
Evening  high  school  (78.1) 
First  year  trade  school  (62.0) 
Continuation  classes  (40.9) 

FIG.  37. — Showing  the  median  score  made  in  the  Chapman- Welles  Test  by  the 
boys  in  each  of  four  groups.     Bridgeport. 

the  evening  high  school  the  difference  is  more  significant  than  these 
scores  indicate,  because  these  students  are  on  the  average  two  to  three 
years  older  than  those  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school.  In  Figure  37 
a  graphical  comparison  is  made  of  the  median  scores  for  the  boys  in 
these  four  groups.  No  comment  is  necessary. 


126          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


Median  scores,  however,  tell  but  a  part  of  the  truth.  For  this 
reason  Figure  38  was  constructed,  in  which  is  presented  the  complete 
distribution  of  the  scores  made  by  each  of  three  groups  of  boys,  those 
in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school,  those  in  the  first  year  of  the  trade 
school,  and  those  in  the  compulsory  continuation  classes.  The  boys  in 
these  three  groups  are  of  approximately  the  same  age.  Observe  the 
character  of  the  curves.  The  curve  for  the  high-school  Freshmen 


First-Year 

1 



First-Year 
Trade  School  ~  " 
Continuation 
Classes 

1 

r 

i  —  i 

i  —  -.     [ 

~}' 

1 

1      |  j 

1  •* 

!  

•     \  — 

1  — 
1 
1 

i 
1  —           i 
i 

i 

!___. 
—  —  | 

1  ' 

0 

10 

20        3°        4 

o       S 

o        60       70       80       90      100      no     120     130     140     150 
Score 

FIG.  38. — Showing  by  percentages  the  distribution  of  scores  made  by  each  of 
three  groups  of  boys  in  the  Chapman-Welles  Test.  Data  from  426  boys  in  the  first 
year  of  the  high  school,  112  boys  in  the  first  year  of  the  trade  school,  and  201  boys  in 
the  compulsory  continuation  classes.  Bridgeport. 

shows  a  fairly  normal  distribution  about  a  center  of  superior  ability, 
while  that  for  the  continuation  classes  exhibits  a  similar  distribution 
about  a  center  of  mediocre  or  inferior  ability.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
curve  for  the  first  year  of  the  trade  school  shows  a  wide  and  somewhat 
irregular  distribution.  The  first  two  curves  are  to  be  expected,  but  why 
this  peculiar  distribution  for  the  trade  school  ?  The  probable  explana- 
tion is  to  be  found  in  the  educational  status  of  this  institution  and  the 
attitude  of  school  teachers  and  others  toward  it.  There  is  no  policy  of 
admission  that  would  close  the  doors  of  the  trade  school  to  children 
judged  inferior  by  academic  standards.  In  many  instances,  as  a  matter 
of  fact,  children  who  have  failed  in  the  conventional  curriculum  are 
encouraged  to  try  this  school.  This  accounts  for  the  large  number  of 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELECTION      127 

cases  at  the  lower  end  of  the  distribution,  but  it  does  not  explain  the 
presence  of  many  children  of  average  and  even  superior  ability.  Appar- 
ently they  enter  the  trade  school  either  through  necessity  or  because  of 
interest  in,  or  an  aptitude  for,  various  types  of  manual  activity. 

Perhaps  a  word  should  be  said  about  the  overlapping  of  these  curves. 
This  is  certainly  just  as  significant  as  the  fact  of  median  differences. 
There  is  very  large  overlapping  between  the  high-school  and  trade- 
school  curves,  and  even  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  hold  a 
considerable  area  in  common  with  the  high  school  Freshmen.  Although 
the  children  in  these  classes  have  in  the  main  been  rejected  as  unfit  by 
the  school,  there  is  a  surprisingly  large  amount  of  ability  to  be  found 
among  them.  There  are  even  a  few  of  distinctly  superior  promise,  at 
least  as  measured  by  this  test.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  high  school 
there  are  some  children  of  remarkably  inferior  ability.  Thus,  while 
we  may  say  that  the  high-school  population  represents  a  certain  measure 
of  psychological  selection,  it  is  clear  that  this  principle  does  not  operate 
conclusively  in  a  negative  fashion  and  much  less  hi  a  positive  way  in 
determining  attendance  at  high  school.  Neither  are  all  of  meager 
intellectual  endowment  barred  from  high  school,  nor  are  all  possessing 
superior  talent  to  be  found  within  its  doors. 

There  is  another  point  of  interest  in  the  data  from  the  trade  school 
that  deserves  some  comment.  The  boys  in  the  second  year  not  only 
did  not  do  as  well  in  the  test  as  those  in  the  first  year,  but  they  actually 
made  a  median  record  almost  ten  points  lower.  As  already  given  hi  the 
table,  the  median  for  the  first  year  is  62.0,  while  that  for  the  second 
year  is  but  52.9;  and  it  should  be  noted  further  that  there  is  a  median 
age  difference  of  1.3  years  hi  favor  of  the  second-year  boys.  While  no 
sweeping  conclusions  may  be  drawn  from  data  from  a  single  school, 
these  facts  give  rise  to  the  suspicion  that  the  work  of  the  trade  school 
is  not  of  such  a  character  as  to  demand  ability  of  the  type  measured  by 
this  and  similar  tests. 

CHOICE  or  CURRICULA 

That  a  certain  amount  of  psychological  selection  is  expressed  hi  the 
choice  of  curricula  is  to  be  expected.  The  extent  to  which  this  occurs 
in  the  Bridgeport  High  School  is  shown  in  Table  LIV.  Here  are  given 
the  median  scores  made  by  both  boys  and  girls  pursuing  the  various 
curricula  in  each  year  of  the  high  school.  Data  are  presented  for  but 
three  curricula  for  each  sex,  because  of  the  very  small  number  of  students 
to  be  found  in  the  other  curricula  offered.  Examination  of  that  part  of 


128         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

the  table  presenting  the  facts  for  the  girls  reveals  appreciable  differences. 
Averaging  the  medians  for  the  four  years  we  get  a  record  for  the  girls  in 
the  college  preparatory  course  of  95.9,  as  compared  with  89.8  for  those 
in  the  normal  course  and  86.8  for  those  in  the  commercial  course.  These 
differences  are  not  large,  and  there  is  great  overlapping  of  the  distribu- 
tions, but  they  do  indicate  some  selection. 

TABLE  LIV 

MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  BY  GIRLS  AND  BOYS  IN  THE  VARIOUS  CURRICULA  IN  THE 
BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL — CHAPMAN- WELLES  TEST 


FRESHMAN 

SOPHOMORE 

JUNIOR 

SENIOR 

AVERAGE 

No.  CASES 

Gi 

rls 

College  

73-0 

97-7 

IOI  .O 

111.7 

ge  .9 

271 

Normal  

75-4 

87.0 

95.  7 

98.0 

80.8 

•276 

Commercial  

71.8 

89.4 

91  .6 

94-4  ' 

86.8 

7ie 

Total  

72.9 

90.8 

95.4 

99-  2 

89.6 

i  ,  362 

Be 

ys 

College  

92.5 

105.3 

113.0 

118.0 

IO7.  2 

371 

Scientific  

86.3 

100.8 

114.6 

in  .5 

IO3-3 

556 

Commercial  

82.9 

100.9 

121  .5 

135.0 

IIO.  I 

148 

Total  

80.7 

101.8 

110.7 

113.8 

108.7 

i  ,07=; 

Turning  to  the  other  half  of  the  table,  which  gives  the  facts  for  the 
boys,  we  observe  no  consistent  tendency  for  any  one  of  the  groups  to 
show  superiority  from  year  to  year.  There  are  some  average  differences, 
but  they  are  not  significant.  The  absence  of  any  definite  selection  here 
may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  no  one  of  these  curricula  is  strictly  vocational, 
although  the  commercial  course  approaches  it.  If  the  number  in  the 
industrial  arts  course  were  sufficiently  large  to  furnish  reliable  medians, 
it  is  probable  that  some  selection  would  be  found  among  the  boys. 

In  Mt.  Vernon  the  National  Intelligence  Tests  were  given  to  the 
high-school  Freshmen.  The  median  scores  made  by  both  sexes  in  the 
different  curricula  are  given  in  Table  LV.  The  several  academic 
curricula  are  grouped,  and  no  data  are  given  for  the  girls  pursuing  the 
industrial  arts  course  because  of  an  insufficient  number  of  cases.  It  is 
at  once  apparent  that  in  Mt.  Vernon  the  academic  curricula  are  attracting 
the  students  of  superior  ability  regardless  of  sex,  while  the  lowest  record 
is  made  by  the  boys  in  the  industrial  arts  course.  Yet  it  should  be  noted 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELECTION       129 


that  there  is  much  overlapping,  and  that  in  the  vocational  courses  there 
are  many  students  of  unusual  talent. 

TABLE  LV 

MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  BY  FRESHMAN  GIRLS  AND  BOYS  IN  EACH  TYPE  OF  CURRICULUM 
IN  THE  Mr.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOL — NATIONAL  INTELLIGENCE  TESTS 


Gi 

ILS 

Be 

YS 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

Academic   

ice  .  7 

IC7 

ie.c,.o 

180 

Commercial  

144    T 

85 

147  .  5 

67 

Industrial  arts  

I^O.O 

34 

PARENTAL  OCCUPATION 

In  Table  LVI  are  given  the  scores  made  in  the  Chapman- Welles 
Test  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School  by  the  students  grouped  according 
to  the  occupation  of  the  father,  the  boys  and  girls  being  kept  separate 

TABLE  LVI 

SCORES  MADE  BY  GIRLS  AND  BOYS  FROM  DIFFERENT  OCCUPATIONAL  GROUPS  IN 
THE  CHAPMAN-WELLES  TEST.  Lx  EACH  CASE  THE  MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE 
IN  THE  FOUR  HIGH-SCHOOL  YEARS  ARE  AVERAGED.  DATA  FROM  BRIDGEPORT 
HIGH  SCHOOL 


Gn 

U.S 

Bo 

YS 

PARENTAL  OCCUPATION 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

Proprietors  

01   8 

213 

IOC.    4 

IQ7 

Professional  service  

103.  3 

66 

104.8 

en 

Managerial  service  

04.  c. 

101 

IOQ    4 

161 

Commercial  service  

04.  3 

77 

no   >, 

71 

Clerical  service  

<H  8 

IO7   7 

31 

Artisan-proprietors  

85.1 

CO 

107.8 

30 

Buildings  trades  

01  .  ^ 

CA 

IO3.  7 

47 

Machine  trades  

02.  3 

161 

IO7  .  3 

131 

Miscellaneous  trades  

84.8 

74 

IO7   O 

ei 

Transportation  service  

84  8 

36 

112    C. 

28 

Personal  service  

81   3 

2^ 

IOI    0 

IO 

Common  labor  

QO.O 

16 

Q<  .O 

17 

All  manual-labor  occupations.  .  . 

88.8 

404 

IOS.8 

316 

All  occupations  

01  6 

1,128 

106  o 

808 

because  of  the  sex  differences  already  noted.   For  each  group  the  median 
scores  for  the  four  high-school  years  are  averaged.     Several   of  the 


130          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

occupational  groups  are  omitted  from  this  table  because  of  inadequate 
representation  in  one  or  more  years.  For  the  purpose  of  focusing 
special  attention  on  the  laboring  groups  they  are  all  combined  into  a 
single  group  at  the  bottom  of  the  table.  In  this  group  are  included 
the  building,  machine,  printing,  and  miscellaneous  trades,  the  transporta- 
tion workers,  public  service,  personal  service,  and  common  labor. 

An  examination  of  the  table  shows  no  clear  differences.  And  the 
evidence  from  the  separate  years  of  the  high  school,  not  given  here, 
supports  this  statement.  Although  for  both  the  girls  and  the  boys  the 
combined  labor  groups  do  average  a  point  or  so  lower  than  the  entire 
high-school  population,  the  difference  is  so  small  as  to  constitute  an 
entirely  insufficient  basis  on  which  to  build  sweeping  conclusions.  In 

TABLE  LVII 

MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  BY  FRESHMEN  OF  THE  MT.  VERNON 
HIGH  SCHOOL  IN  THE  NATIONAL  INTELLIGENCE  TESTS, 
CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO  THE  OCCUPATION  OF  THE 
FATHER 


Parental  Occupation 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

Proprietors  

147  .9 

=10 

Professional  service  . 

158   2 

2« 

Managerial  service  

l<2    ? 

2T. 

Commercial  service  

Z<3.< 

22 

Clerical  service  

1^8.2 

12 

Artisan-proprietors  

I  C2  .  ? 

12 

All  laboring  groups  

141  .  =; 

48 

Bridgeport  at  least  the  high-school  students  from  the  various  occupational 
groups  exhibit  about  the  same  measure  of  ability.  This  indicates  again 
that  the  children  of  manual  laborers  who  get  into  the  high  school  are 
relatively  highly  selected,  since  the  testing  of  an  unselected  group  of 
children  from  this  source  shows  an  intelligence  level  appreciably  lower 
than  that  of  children  from  the  professional  and  more  prosperous  classes. 
In  Mt.  Vernon,  however,  we  do  find  some  differences  in  the  small 
group  in  the  Freshman  class  for  whom  we  have  all  the  necessary  data. 
The  facts  are  presented  in  Table  LVII.  In  order  to  secure  a  sufficiently 
large  number  of  cases  for  statistical  purposes  all  the  laboring  groups 
are  combined.  If  the  record  made  by  the  children  of  this  combination 
group  is  compared  with  records  made  by  those  whose  fathers  are  engaged 
in  other  occupations,  the  comparison  is  found  to  be  somewhat  unfavorable 
to  the  laboring  classes,  although  the  clerical  service  does  show  a  slightly 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELECTION       131 


lower  record.    But  even  in  Mt.  Vernon  the  complete  distributions  show 
the  differences  to  merit  less  attention  than  the  points  of  agreement. 

THE   IMMIGRANT 

The  test  records  made  by  the  high-school  students  in  Bridgeport, 
classified  according  to  the  father's  country  of  birth,  appear  in  Table 
LVIII.  Since  this  table  is  organized  in  the  same  way  as  the  previous 
table  giving  similar  data  for  the  occupational  groups,  no  explanation  is 
necessary.  If  we  compare  the  records  made  by  the  combined  immigrant 
groups  with  those  made  by  children  of  native  parentage,  they  are  found 
to  be  almost  identical,  the  boys  displaying  slight  superiority  in  the  former 
and  the  girls  in  the  latter  group.  These  differences  are  not  large  enough 
to  enable  us  to  say,  however,  that  the  immigrant  boys  are  superior  and 
the  immigrant  girls  inferior  to  the  American  children  in  this  high  school. 
With  the  exception  of  the  Italian  and  Polish  children,  whose  records  are 
considerably  below  the  average  for  both  sexes,  the  children  of  foreign 
parentage  appear  to  hold  their  own  very  well. 

TABLE  LVIH 

SCORES  MADE  IN  CHAPMAN-WELLES  TEST  BY  GIRLS  AND  BOYS,  CLASSIFIED  ACCORD- 
ING TO  NATIVITY  OF  THE  FATHER.    MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  IN  THE  FOUR 
SCHOOL  YEARS  ARE  AVERAGED  IN  EACH  CASE — BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL 


•  

Gn 

US 

Be 

YS 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 

Cases 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

United  States   

92.5 

586 

106.7 

4O  S 

Austria-Hungary  

84.1 

93 

109.2 

07 

British  Empire     

92  .  1 

82 

108.7 

67 

Germany     

86.0 

27 

III  .9 

19 

Ireland           

90.3 

98 

100.5 

66 

Italy  

80.0 

39 

99.0 

55 

Poland  

83.8 

8 

99.4 

10 

91.8 

!35 

109.2 

132 

Scandinavia          

QT..Q 

51 

106.3 

40 

All  foreign  countries.  .  . 

go.  6 

644 

107.1 

493 

A  similar  situation  is  found  among  the  Freshmen  in  the  Mt.  Vernon 
High  School.  Since  the  number  of  children  of  immigrant  stock  is 
small,  they  are  all  included  in  a  single  group.  This  gives  us  for  the 
girls  of  native  and  foreign  parentage  the  median  scores  of  155.5  an(*  151.3 
respectively.  The  corresponding  scores  for  the  boys  are  156.2  and 


132 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


154.0.  There  is  in  each  case  a  slight  difference  favoring  the  former, 
but  hardly  large  enough  to  deserve  comment.  We  may  say,  therefore, 
that,  regardless  of  any  differences  in  ability  that  may  be  found  in 
unselected  groups  of  children  from  the  native  and  various  immigrant 
stocks,  such  differences  are  practically  obscure  in  the  high-school 
population. 

FAMILY   INFLUENCES 

A  study  of  the  records  made  in  the  tests  by  the  firstborn  and  lastborn 
in  families  of  two  or  more  children  brings  to  light  evidence  which  supports 
the  conclusions  in  an  earlier  chapter  that  selective  influences  are  operat- 
ing at  this  point.  In  Table  LIX  are  compared  the  scores  made  in  the 
Chapman-Welles  Test  by  the  firstborn  and  lastborn  children  in  the 
Bridgeport  High  School.  As  in  previous  tables,  in  order  to  get  a  single 
measure  for  each  group  the  median  scores  made  by  -the  students  in  the 
four  years  are  averaged.  For  both  the  boys  and  the  girls,  it  will  be 
observed,  the  firstborn  make  a  score  significantly  larger  than  that  made 
by  the  lastborn  children. 

TABLE  LIX 

COMPARISON  OF  SCORES  MADE  BY  FIRSTBORN  AND  LASTBORN  CHILDREN  IN 
THE  BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL  IN  THE  CHAPMAN-WELLES  TEST.  IN 
EACH  CASE  THE  MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  IN  THE  FOUR  HIGH-SCHOOL  YEARS 
ARE  AVERAGED 


Gi 

SLS 

Be 

YS 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

Firstborn  

94.8 

287 

108.3 

264 

Lastborn   

87.8 

247 

102.8 

20? 

Among  the  Freshmen  of  the  Mt.  Vernon  High  School  the  same  rela- 
tion is  found,  as  an  examination  of  Table  LX  will  show.  What  is  the 
explanation?  Certainly  not  that  firstborn  are  brighter  than  lastborn 
children,  but  rather  that  the  former  in  the  high  school  are  more  highly 
selected  groups  than  the  latter.  Among  certain  elements  of  the  population 
the  firstborn  child  is  more  likely  to  be  called  on  to  sacrifice  his  own  educa- 
tional opportunities  in  the  interests  of  the  family  than  is  the  lastborn. 
Especially,  if  he  does  not  possess  unusual  ability,  it  seems  that  he  will 
receive  less  encouragement  than  his  younger  brother  or  sister  to  remain  in 
school.  In  other  words,  that  general  tendency  of  the  high  school  to  select 


PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL  SELECTION      133 


children  of  superior  talent  and  reject  others  operates  with  peculiar  force 
among  the  firstborn,  because  of  the  influence  of  certain  sociological 
factors. 

TABLE  LX 

COMPARISON  OF  MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  IN  THE  NATIONAL  INTELLIGENCE 

TESTS  BY  FIRSTBORN  AND  LASTBORN  CHILDREN  IN  THE 

MT.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOL 


Order  of  Birth 

On 

ILS 

Be 

YS 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

Firstborn  

ISI  .  3 

27 

IS4-  2 

38 

Lastborn  

147.5 

22 

146.  7 

24 

It  is  also  interesting  to  note  the  relation  of  ability  to  the  number  of 
children  in  the  family,  keeping  in  mind  of  course  that  the  validity  of 
these  tests  is  assumed.  The  facts  from  the  Bridgeport  High  School  are 
presented  in  Table  LXI.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  students  are 
classified  into  three  groups  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of  children  in  the 
family  from  which  they  come.  First,  there  is  the  family  with  an  only 
child;  second,  the  family  with  from  two  to  four  children;  and  third, 
the  family  with  five  or  more  children.  According  to  this  table  the  score 
seems  to  vary  inversely  with  the  size  of  the  family  for  both  the  girls  and 
the  boys. 

TABLE  LXI 

COMPARISON  OF  SCORES  MADE  IN  CHAPMAN-WELLES  TEST  BY  CHILDREN  COMING 
FROM  FAMILIES  OF  THREE  DIFFERENT  SIZES  IN  THE  BRIDGEPORT  HIGH  SCHOOL. 
IN  EACH  CASE  THE  MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  IN  THE  FOUR  HIGH-SCHOOL  YEARS 
ARE  AVERAGED 


NUMBER  OF  CHILDREN 
IN  THE  FAMILY 

GIRLS 

BOYS 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

Average  of 
Medians 

No.  of 
Cases 

I  

94.2 
Q2.6 
89-3 

118 

599 
308 

113.6 
107.0 
104.2 

112 

523 
263 

2-4.  . 

">+.  • 

Data  bearing  on  this  same  point  from  Mt.  Vernon  appear  in  Table 
LXII.  The  evidence  here  corroborates  the  findings  in  Bridgeport. 
Apparently  the  superior  children  exist  in  proportionately  larger  num- 
bers in  the  smaller  families.  But  the  explanation  is  probably  to  be 


134 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


found  in  the  voluntary  limitation  of  the  birth-rate  among  the  more 
intelligent  and  foresighted  elements  of  the  population.    The  ultimate 

TABLE  LXII 

COMPARISON  OF  MEDIAN  SCORES  MADE  IN  THE  NATIONAL  INTELLIGENCE  TESTS  BY 

CHILDREN  COMING  FROM  FAMILIES  OF  THREE  DIFFERENT  SIZES  IN  THE 

MT.  VERNON  HIGH  SCHOOL 


No.  OF  CHILDREN 

Gi 

tLS 

Be 

YS 

IN  THE  FAMILY 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

Median  Score 

No.  of  Cases 

I  

148.8 

9 

16";.  o 

8 

2-4.  . 

146.7 

62 

iei  .4 

6l 

"?+.  • 

1  30.  2 

IO 

1  30.  6 

7Q 

effect  of  such  a  policy  on  the  soundness  and  quality  of  the  racial  stock 
is  obvious,  but  a  discussion  of  this  matter  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this 
study. 


CHAPTER  XV 
THE  POPULATION  OF  THE  PRIVATE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

There  are  in  the  United  States  158,745  students  enrolled  in  the 
private  secondary  schools,  according  to  the  report  of  the  Federal  Bureau 
for  the  school  year  1917-18.  While  the  proportion  of  the  total  secondary- 
school  population  to  be  found  in  these  schools  has  been  decreasing 
gradually  for  fifty  years  and  probably  for  an  even  longer  period,  the 
number  is  still  sufficiently  large  to  receive  attention  in  any  study  of 
this  character.  This  chapter  may,  therefore,  be  regarded  as  a  supple- 
ment to  the  more  detailed  study  of  the  social  composition  of  the  public 
high-school  population  reported  in  the  preceding  chapters.  It  will 
throw  additional  light  on  the  extension  of  the  opportunities  of  secondary 
education  to  the  various  strata  of  American  society. 

But  there  is  a  second  consideration  that  lends  significance  to  this 
part  of  the  study.  It  has  been  remarked  that  in  the  primitive  peoples 
inhabiting  various  parts  of  the  globe  today  we  may  see  our  contempora- 
neous ancestors.  While  this  construction  must  not  be  taken  literally,  since 
each  people,  even  the  most  primitive,  has  experienced  a  longer  or  shorter 
period  of  evolution  that  has  produced  certain  unique  and  special  charac- 
teristics, it  does  contain  a  certain  element  of  truth.  So  in  the  private 
secondary  schools  of  today  we  see  preserved  some  of  those  features 
which  characterized  the  secondary  institutions  of  a  few  generations  ago, 
before  the  rise  of  the  public  high  school.  By  comparing  the  high-school 
population  with  that  of  the  private  secondary  schools  we  may,  therefore, 
get  some  idea  of  the  distance  we  have  traveled  in  actual  practice  from 
the  conception  of  secondary  education  as  class  education.  Of  course 
there  are  certain  forces  operating  today  to  determine  the  character  of 
the  population  of  these  private  schools  which  did  not  affect  the  schools 
of  the  earlier  period,  but  in  general  the  impression  made  by  the  com- 
parison probably  corresponds  with  the  facts.  The  elements  in  the  popu- 
lation which  patronize  the  private  secondary  schools  today  in  all 
probability  gave  their  children  a  secondary  education  in  the  days  when 
it  was  not  free  and  when  it  looked  toward  the  college  altogether.  To  be 
sure,  a  considerable  number  of  parents  who  do  not  patronize  the  private 
secondary  schools  would  send  their  children  to  these  schools  today  if 
there  were  no  public  schools  of  secondary  grade,  but  it  is  not  probable 


136 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


that  these  additions  would  greatly  change  the  social  complexion  of  the 
student  population  there  enrolled. 

THE    SCHOOLS   STUDIED 

Data  were  secured  from  two  schools:  the  one,  a  day  school  in  the 
Middle  West,  and  the  other,  a  famous  boarding-school  in  New  England. 
They  are  respectively  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School  in  Chicago, 
Illinois,  and  the  Phillips-Exeter  Academy  at  Exeter,  New  Hampshire. 

Owing  to  the  very  rapid  development  of  Roman  Catholic  secondary 
schools  during  the  last  twenty  years,  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  the 
facts  from  one  of  these  schools,  but  without  success.  The  administrative 
officers  approached  seemed  not  to  be  interested  in  a  study  of  this 
character. 

Perhaps  a  few  words  should  be  set  down  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
two  schools  studied.  Exeter  Academy  is  a  non-sectarian  school  offering 

TABLE  LXIII 

OCCUPATIONS  or  FATHERS  OR  GUARDIANS  OF  201  STUDENTS  IN  PHILLIPS-EXETER 
ACADEMY  AND  418  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  HIGH  SCHOOL 


PARENTAL  OCCUPATION 

EXETER  ACADEMY 

U.  OF  C.  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TOTAL 

Number 

Percentage 

Number 

Percentage 

Number 

Percentage 

Proprietors  

88 
62    . 

21 
IS 

5 
3 

2 
2 
3 

44-0 
31-0 
10-5 

7-5 

2-5 

i-5 

I.O 
I.O 
I.O 

176 
130 
SO 
41 
8 

5 

2 

42.1 

31'? 

12.  0 
Q.8 
I.Q 
I  .2 

•5 

264 
192 

71 
56 
13 
8 

4 

2 

9 

42.7 
31.0 

II-S 
9.0 

2.1 

i-3 
•  7 
•3 
1.4 

Professional  service  ...... 
Managerial  service  

Commercial  service  

Clerical  service  

Artisan-proprietors  

Agricultural  service  

Manual  labor 

Unknown  

6 

i-4 

Total  

2OI 

IOO.O 

418 

IOO.O 

619 

IOO.O 

a  four-year  academic  course  and  enrolling  about  575  students,  all  of 
whom  are  boys  The  University  of  Chicago  High  School  is  coeducational 
and  non-sectarian  and  is  definitely  college  preparatory.  Its  registration 
is  about  475.  Both  schools  have  tuition  fees,  that  of  the  former  being 
$200  and  that  of  the  latter  $275.  In  addition  to  the  tuition  fee  at 
Exeter  there  are  the  annual  charges  for  room  and  board  and  other 
assessments  which  range  from  $336  to  $1,091,  according  to  the  catalogue 
for  1920-21. 


POPULATION  OF  THE  PRIVATE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 


137 


Data  were  not  secured  from  the  entire  population  in  either  school, 
since  it  was  felt  that  a  random  sampling  would  be  sufficient  for  our 
purposes.  As  shown  in  Table  LXIII  returns  were  received  from  201 
students  in  Exeter  and  418  in  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School. 


THE   PARENTAL   OCCUPATION 


As  in  the  study  of  the  public  high  school,  the  most  significant  thing 
here  is  the  occupation  of  the  parent  or  guardian.  The  facts  for  the  two 
schools  are  presented  in  Table  LXIII.  A  glance  at  this  table  makes  it 
clear  that  the  social  composition  of  the  student  population  in  these 


Proprietors  (42-7) 

Professional  service  (31.0) 

Managerial  service  (n-S) 

Commercial  service  (9.0) 

Clerical  service  (2.1) 

Artisan-proprietors  (1.3) 

Agricultural  service  (.7) 

Manual  labor  (.3) 

Unknown  (1.4) 


FIG.  39. — Showing  by  percentages  the  occupations  of  the  fathers  or  guardians 
of  619  students  in  Phillips-Exeter  Academy  and  the  University  of  Chicago  High 
School.  June,  1921. 

schools  is  decidedly  different  from  that  of  the  public  high-school  popula- 
tion. And,  furthermore,  Phillips-Exeter  Academy  and  the  University 
of  Chicago  High  School  draw  their  students  from  almost  exactly  the 
same  elements  in  the  population.  About  the  only  difference  worthy  of 
mention  is  the  slightly  larger  representation  of  the  managerial  and 
commercial  workers  in  the  latter  and  a  correspondingly  greater  per- 
centage of  proprietors  and  clerical  workers  in  the  former. 

The  percentages  for  the  two  schools  combined  are  presented  graph- 
ically in  Figure  39.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  proprietors  have  the 
largest  representation,  with  42.7  per  cent  of  the  students.  Then  follows 


138         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


the  professional  service  with  31.0  per  cent.  No  other  group  can  be  said 
to  be  well  represented  in  these  schools.  Consequently  it  may  be  said 
that  private  secondary  schools  of  the  more  exclusive  type  are  organized 
practically  for  these  two  classes  in  the  population.  The  relatively  poor 
representation  of  the  managerial  service  is  perhaps  surprising  until  it  is 
recalled  that  quite  a  large  proportion  of  the  purely  managerial  positions 
are  not  high-grade  positions  and  that  many  of  the  individuals  holding 
these  positions  have  been  promoted  from  some  form  of  skilled  labor. 
Considering  their  numbers  in  the  population  the  commercial  workers 
have  a  fair  representation,  while  the  clerical  workers  are  almost  wholly 
absent.  There  are  very  few  artisan-proprietors  and  farmers;  and  the 
many  grades  and  varieties  of  manual  labor  combined  account  for  only 
.3  per  cent  of  the  total  enrolment  of  the  two  schools.  It  is  probable 
that  more  detailed  and  comprehensive  knowledge  of  these  few  cases 
would  reveal  the  influence  of  certain  special  circumstances  not  ordinarily 
associated  with  manual  labor. 

It  is  interesting  at  this  point  to  make  a  comparison  with  the  public 
high-school  population.     This  is  done  in  Table  LXIV.    According  to 

TABLE  LXIV 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  FATHERS  OR  GUARDIANS  OF  17,265  STUDENTS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH 
SCHOOLS  OF  BRIDGEPORT,  MT.  VERNON,  ST.  Louis,  AND  SEATTLE,  and  619 
STUDENTS  IN  THE  PHILLIPS-EXETER  ACADEMY  AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 
HIGH  SCHOOL 


Parental  Occupation 

High  Schools  of 
Bridgeport,  Mt.  Vernon, 
St.  Louis,  Seattle 

Phillips-Exeter 
Academy  and  University 
of  Chicago  High  School 

Proprietors  

IQ.8 

42   7 

Professional  service  

Q.A 

•31     O 

Managerial  service  .  .  .  ^  

16.5 

II  .  e 

Commercial  service  

o.  c 

0  .0 

Clerical  service    

S.8 

2.  1 

Artisan-proprietors  

4.2 

I    3 

Agricultural  service  

2.4 

.7 

Manual  labor  

2Q.  I 

.  7 

Unknown                   

3.  7 

1  .4. 

Total  

IOO.O 

IOO.O 

this  table  only  two  occupational  groups  have  a  greater  proportional 
representation  in  the  private  than  in  the  public  secondary  schools — the 
professional  service  and  the  proprietors.  All  the  rest  are  less  well 
represented,  although  only  slightly  so  in  the  case  of  the  commerical 
service.  Then  follow  the  managerial  service,  the  clerical  service,  the 


POPULATION  OF  THE  PRIVATE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 


139 


artisan-proprietors,  the  agricultural  service,  and  finally  manual  labor. 
It  is  in  this  last  group  that  the  most  pronounced  difference  is  to  be  found. 
While  29.1  per  cent  of  all  the  students  in  the  public  high  schools  come 
from  the  laboring  classes,  only  a  negligible  proportion  of  those  in  these 
private  schools  are  from  this  source.  Thus,  while  public  secondary 
education  in  the  United  States  is  still  highly  selective,  it  is  certainly 
much  less  so  than  private.  And,  assuming  that  these  private  schools 
do  give  us  a  relatively  reliable  picture  of  the  social  composition  of  our 
secondary-school  population  of  a  few  generations  ago,  it  is  clear  that  we 
have  traveled  a  considerable  distance  from  the  conception  of  secondary 
education  as  class  education. 

NATIVITY   OF   THE   FATHER 

The  students  in  these  two  schools  are  very  largely  of  American 
parentage.    This  is  shown  in  Table  LXV  in  which  they  are  classified 

TABLE  LXV 

NATIVITY   OF   FATHERS   OF   619   STUDENTS   IN   THE   PHILLIPS- 
EXETER  ACADEMY  AND  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO 
HIGH  SCHOOL 


Country  of  Father's  Birth 

Number 

Percentage 

United  States  

540 

87.3 

Austria-Hungary  

6 

1  .0 

British  Empire  

41 

6.6 

France  

4 

.6 

Germany  

17 

2.  7 

Ireland  

3 

.5 

Italy  

i 

.2 

Russia  

7 

.C 

Scandinavia  

2 

.7 

All  others  

2 

„  7 

Total  

610 

IOO.O 

according  to  the  nativity  of  the  father.  In  the  two  schools  combined 
87.3  per  cent  of  the  fathers  of  the  students  were  born  in  this  country, 
and  over  one-half  of  the  remainder  were  born  in  English-speaking 
countries.  It  will  be  noticed  further  that  the  south  and  east  of  Europe 
are  practically  without  representation.  These  schools  draw  from  the 
native  stock  and  the  peoples  from  the  north  and  west  of  Europe. 

NUMBER   OF   BROTHERS   AND   SISTERS 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  facts  concerning  occupation  and  nativity  it 
is  to  be  expected  that  the  families  from  which  these  children  come  should 


140          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

be  somewhat  smaller  than  those  from  which  the  public  high  school  is 
recruited.  And  such  is  the  case  to  a  small  degree,  as  may  be  seen  by 
examining  Table  LXVI.  According  to  this  table  the  median  number  of 
brothers  and  sisters  is  higher  for  the  students  in  the  public  high  schools 
in  each  of  the  cities  than  it  is  for  those  in  either  of  the  private  schools. 
This  figure  is  lowest  in  the  University  of  Chicago  High  School,  where  it 
is  but  1.3,  and  highest  in  the  Bridgeport  High  School,  where  it  reaches  2.3. 

TABLE  LXVI 

MEDIAN  NUMBER  OF  BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS  OF  THE 

STUDENTS  IN  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  FOUR 

CITIES  AND  IN  Two  PRIVATE  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS 


Secondary  Schools 

Median  Number 
Brothers  and 
Sisters 

Bridgeport  

2  .  3 

Mt.  Vernon  

2  .  1 

Seattle  

2  .0 

St.  Louis  

1.8 

Exeter  Academy  

1  .  7 

University  of  Chicago  High  School  

I  .  •! 

In  conclusion  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  differences  between 
the  public  high  school  and  these  private  secondary  schools  are  actually 
greater  than  statistics  indicate.  In  all  probability,  for  example,  there 
is  an  important  average  difference  between  the  managerial  service 
represented  in  the  two  types  of  schools.  Fathers  engaged  in  these 
occupations  who  send  their  children  to  the  private  school  hold  positions 
somewhat  superior  as  a  rule  to  those  held  by  fathers  similarly  classed 
who  send  their  children  to  the  public  schools.  Many  of  those  represent- 
ing the  managerial  occupations  in  the  high  school  are  foremen  while 
this  grade  is  practically  absent  in  the  private  school.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  each  of  the  remaining  occupational  groups,  when  examined 
in  the  concrete.  Thus  we  may  conclude  that,  while  the  public  high  school 
is  still  a  class  institution  in  a  very  real  sense,  yet  the  great  increase  in 
the  secondary-school  population  of  the  last  forty  years  marks  a  consider- 
able advance  toward  the  democratization  of  secondary  education. 


PART  III.     CONCLUSION  AND  INTERPRETATION 

CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  AMERICAN 
SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

In  view  of  the  foregoing  analysis  it  is  clear  that  we  in  America  have 
not  abandoned  in  practice  the  selective  principle  in  secondary  education, 
even  though  we  have  established  a  free  public  high  school  in  almost 
every  community  in  the  country.  It  is  not  strictly  in  accord  with  the 
facts  to  say  that  "a  public  high  school  differs  from  an  elementary 
school  chiefly  in  the  age  of  its  children."  It  is  true  that  children  in 
high  school  are  on  the  average  somewhat  older  than  those  in  the  elemen- 
tary school,  yet,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  not  very  much  difference 
in  the  ages  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  eighth  grade  and  those  in  the  first 
year  of  the  high  school.  High-school  students,  even  today  and  in  spite 
of  the  amazing  growth  of  the  high-school  enrolment  since  1880,  are  a 
highly  selected  group.  And  this  difference  is  just  as  important  as  the 
difference  in  age.  Secondary  education  is  not  education  for  adolescence, 
as  elementary  education  is  education  for  childhood,  but  rather  education 
for  a  selected  group  of  adolescents,  as  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding 
chapters,  and  as  we  shall  note  again  now  in  summary. 

PARENTAL  OCCUPATION  AND  THE  PUBLIC  HIGH   SCHOOL 

There  is  a  close  relation  between  parental  occupation  and  the 
privileges  of  secondary  education.  If  we  examine  the  entire  high-school 
population,  we  find  certain  occupational  groups  very  well  and  others 
very  poorly  represented,  in  proportion  to  their  numbers  in  the  general 
population.  Among  the  former  are  the  five  great  non-labor  groups 
with  professional  service  occupying  the  most  advantageous  position, 
followed  by  the  proprietors,  commercial  service,  managerial  service, 
and  clerical  service.  At  the  other  end  of  the  series  are  the  lower  grades 
of  labor  with  common  labor  almost  unrepresented  and  personal  service, 
miners,  lumber- workers,  and  fishermen,  and  the  miscellaneous  trades 
and  machine  operatives  in  the  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries, 
occupying  somewhat  better  positions  in  the  order  named.  The  other 
occupational  groups  are  found  between  these  two  extremes.  Next  to 
the  non-labor  groups  are  the  printing  trades  and  the  public  service, 

141 


142          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

followed  by  the  machine  trades,  transportation  service,  and  the  building 
trades.  In  general,  the  order  here  given  reflects  the  social  and  economic 
status  of  the  occupation,  its  educational  and  intellectual  standards, 
and  the  stability  of  employment. 

Not  only  do  these  various  occupational  classes  exhibit  different 
degrees  of  representation  in  the  high  school  at  the  beginning  of  the 
course,  but  those  very  groups  that  are  under-represented  in  the  Freshman 
year  have  the  smallest  ratio  of  Seniors  to  Freshmen.  In  fact,  the 
representation  of  an  occupation  in  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  is 
at  the  same  time  a  fairly  accurate  measure  of  its  tendency  to  persist 
through  the  fourth  year.  Consequently,  the  differences  among  the 
groups  become  more  and  more  pronounced  in  the  successive  years  of  the 
school.  The  student  population  gradually  becomes  more  and  more 
homogeneous  as  the  source  from  which  it  is  drawn  becomes  more  narrow, 
until  by  the  tune  the  Senior  year  of  the  high  school  is  reached,  the 
student  body  exhibits  a  distinctly  class  character.  Here  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  laboring  classes  are  few  indeed  in  proportion  to  their 
number  in  the  general  population,  and  the  lower  grades  of  labor  have 
practically  disappeared.  This  is  brought  out  in  striking  fashion  by  the 
data  from  Mt.  Vernon  in  which  the  sixth  grade  is  contrasted  with  the 
last  year  of  the  high  school. 

Evidence  in  corroboration  of  these  conclusions,  drawn  from  a  study 
of  the  high-school  population,  is  derived  from  the  investigation  of 
groups  of  children  of  high-school  age  not  in  high  school  in  Seattle  and 
Bridgeport.  In  the  former  city,  a  study  of  514  children  of  high-school 
age  at  work  showed  a  social  composition  very  different  from  that  of  the 
high-school  population.  Here,  four  great  labor  groups — the  building 
trades,  common  labor,  machine  trades,  and  transportation  service — con- 
tribute over  60  per  cent  of  the  children.  The  situation  is  just  the  reverse 
of  that  found  in  the  high  school.  In  Bridgeport  a  similar  condition  is 
found.  In  the  evening  high  school  of  that  city  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  laboring  classes  constitute  the  great  majority  of  the  enrolment 
with  the  machine  trades  in  the  lead,  followed  by  the  miscellaneous 
trades,  common  labor,  and  the  building  trades.  In  the  trade  school  the 
situation  is  about  the  same  except  that  the  representation  of  the  laboring 
classes  is  yet  larger  and  common  labor  forges  ahead  of  the  miscellaneous 
trades  to  second  place.  Apparently  the  children  of  the  laboring  classes  are 
destined  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  fathers.  This  representation 
of  the  labor  groups  is  still  further  increased  in  that  group  of  educational 
unfortunates  enrolled  in  the  compulsory  continuation  classes  in  which 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION          143 

common  labor  holds  first  place,  accounting  for  over  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  registration. 

These  differences  in  the  extent  of  educational  opportunity  are 
further  accentuated  through  the  choice  of  curricula.  As  a  rule, 
those  groups  which  are  poorly  represented  in  the  high  school  patronize 
the  more  narrow  and  practical  curricula,  the  curricula  which  stand  as 
terminal  points  in  the  educational  system  and  which  prepare  for  wage- 
earning.  And  the  poorer  their  representation  in  high  school,  the 
greater  is  the  probability  that  they  will  enter  these  curricula.  The  one- 
and  two-year  vocational  courses,  wherever  offered,  draw  their  regis- 
tration particularly,  from  the  ranks  of  labor.  This  tendency  is  con- 
siderably more  pronounced  among  the  girls  than  among  the  boys.  The 
former  seem  to  be  peculiarly  bound  by  the  social  class  from  which  they 
come.  One  is  surprised  at  the  unmistakable  class  character  of  the  girls' 
college  preparatory  course  in  a  high  school  such  as  that  in  Bridgeport. 
Furthermore,  the  thesis  may  be  cautiously  advanced  that  these  differ- 
ences appear  somewhat  more  clearly  in  the  East  than  in  the  West,  but 
it  is  hardly  safe  to  generalize  on  the  basis  of  returns  from  four  cities. 

A  study  of  expectations  following  graduation,  as  given  by  the 
students,  indicates  that  this  selective  principle  continues  to  operate 
beyond  the  period  of  secondary  education.  Those  classes  which  are 
least  well  represented  in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school  will  apparently 
be  yet  less  well  represented  in  the  colleges  and  universities.  And,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  choice  of  curricula,  this  tendency  is  more  marked 
among  the  girls  than  among  the  boys,  in  the  East  than  in  the  West. 

THE  PUBLIC  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  THE  CULTURAL  LEVEL 

Parental  occupation,  as  one  index  of  cultural  level,  exhibits  a  close 
relation  to  educational  opportunity.  The  same  is  true  of  the  possession 
of  a  telephone  in  the  home,  according  to  the  returns  from  Bridgeport 
and  Mt.  Vernon.  In  the  former  city,  it  was  found  that  telephones  are 
two  and  one-half  times  as  frequent  in  the  homes  of  high-school  students 
as  in  those  of  children  attending  the  trade  school,  and  seven  times  as 
frequent  as  in  the  homes  of  the  children  in  the  compulsory  continuation 
classes.  Furthermore,  the  percentage  of  telephones  increases  decidedly 
from  year  to  year  in  the  high  school.  Thus  we  find  but  39.7  per  cent  of 
the  students  in  the  Freshman  year  coming  from  homes  with  telephones, 
whereas  in  the  Senior  year,  this  percentage  is  60.3.  There  are  also  wide 
differences  among  the  curricula  in  this  respect.  In  the  case  of  the  girls, 
telephones  are  almost  twice  as  frequent  in  the  homes  of  those  who  are 


144          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

enrolled  in  the  college  preparatory  as  in  the  homes  of  those  taking  the 
commercial  course.  And  these  curricular  differences  are  less  marked 
among  the  boys  than  among  the  girls  as  was  observed  in  the  study  of  the 
parental  occupation.  Data  from  Mt.  Vernon,  including  returns  from 
the  sixth  grade,  support  in  every  particular  these  conclusions  drawn  from 
the  Bridgeport  study. 

THE  PUBLIC    HIGH   SCHOOL    AND  FAMILY   INFLUENCES 

All  the  evidence  brought  to  light  in  this  study  points  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  family  as  a  powerful  factor  in  determining  attendance  at 
high  school.  The  mortality  of  parents  of  high-school  students  is  found 
to  be  considerably  below  the  expectation  for  children  of  high-school  age, 
and  does  not  increase  perceptibly  from  the  Freshman  to  the  Senior  year. 
In  fact,  according  to  the  returns  from  Mt.  Vernon,  the  mortality  of 
parents  is  appreciably  higher  among  sixth-grade  children  than  among 
students  in  the  last  year  of  the  high  school.  An  examination  "of  the 
various  groups  of  children  of  high-school  age  not  in  high  school  shows  a 
much  higher  mortality  of  parents  here  than  among  high-school  students. 
In  the  case  of  young  people  attending  the  evening  high  school  in  Bridge- 
port, the  mortality  of  parents  is  extraordinarily  high,  more  than  two  and 
one-half  times  as  high  as  among  those  attending  the  day  high  school. 
Unquestionably  the  disorganization  of  the  home  through  the  death  of  a 
parent  is  reflected  in  the  diminution  of  the  opportunities  of  secondary 
education. 

While  the  evidence  is  neither  quite  so  clear  nor  quite  so  objective, 
apparently  the  engaging  in  remunerative  employment  on  the  part  of  the 
mother  acts  in  the  same  way  as  the  death  of  a  parent.  Comparisons 
made  among  the  groups  studied  usually  hold  in  the  one  case  as  in  the 
other.  Yet,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  working  mother  is 
usually  just  one  element  in  a  complex  social  situation. 

The  influence  of  the  size  of  the  family  on  educational  opportunity 
is  not  altogether  clear.  •  On  the  average,  those  elements  in  the  population 
who  do  not  patronize  the  high  school  have  larger  families  than  those 
who  do,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to  indicate  that  the  size  of  the  family 
itself  is  a  determining  factor;  for  the  number  of  brothers  and  sisters  is 
no  smaller  among  Seniors  than  among  Freshmen,  and  the  very  large 
families  have  just  as  high  representation  in  the  last  as  in  the  first  year 
of  the  high  school.  Likewise  the  very  small  families  do  not  apparently 
increase  their  representation  in  the  later  years  of  the  high  school. 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION          145 

The  order  of  birth  seems  to  be  a  matter  of  more  importance,  although 
the  complexity  of  the  situation  is  hardly  compatible  with  any  but  the 
most  cautious  of  statements.  Our  clearest  evidence,  drawn  from  the  four 
groups  studied  in  Bridgeport,  indicates  that  the  firstborn  has  somewhat 
more  limited  chances  of  securing  a  high-school  education  than  the 
lastborn  child.  It  is  on  him  particularly  that  the  burden  of  family 
support  is  likely  to  fall,  if  one  or  more  of  the  children  must  help  to 
bear  it. 

THE   PUBLIC  HIGH   SCHOOL  AND   THE   IMMIGRANT 

Returns  from  Bridgeport  and  Mt.  Vernon  indicate  very  clearly 
that  children  of  native  parentage  attend  the  public  high  school  hi 
proportionately  much  larger  numbers  than  do  children  of  immigrant 
parentage.  There  are  certain  immigrant  groups,  however,  that  approxi- 
mate, if  they  do  not  surpass,  the  native  stock  hi  their  zeal  for  secondary 
education,  altogether  apart  from  the  social  and  economic  handicaps 
under  which  the  immigrant  labors.  Among  these,  probably  the  Russian 
Jews  stand  at  the  top,  followed  by  the  Irish,  the  Germans,  and  the 
peoples  of  the  British  Empire.  At  the  other  extreme  are  the  Italians, 
the  Poles,  and  the  races  of  the  old  Austro-Hungarian  Empire  who 
patronize  the  high  school  hi  exceedingly  small  measure.  Disregarding 
the  record  of  the  Russian  Jews,  it  may  be  stated  as  a  general  principle 
that  the  farther  east  and  south  we  go  in  Europe,  as  the  source  of  our 
immigrants,  we  find  less  interest  in  secondary  education. 

The  well-known  tendency  among  our  own  people  for  the  girls  to  pat- 
ronize the  high  school  in  greater  numbers  than  the  boys  is  reversed  among 
certain  immigrant  stocks.  Thus,  while  hi  the  Bridgeport  High  School 
there  are  but  74  boys  of  native  parentage  to  every  100  girls,  among  the 
Italians  this  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  is  154.  This  social  trait,  if  such  it 
may  be  called,  varies  much  from  group  to  group.  Beginning  with  the 
Irish  who  exhibit  the  American  trait  in  approximately  its  native  strength 
of  sending  girls  rather  than  boys  to  high  school,  the  proportion  of  boys 
steadily  increases  as  we  pass  east  and  south  into  Europe.  Among  the 
peoples  of  the  "new"  immigration  the  right  of  the  girl  to  a  secondary 
education  is  not  recognized  as  on  a  parity  with  that  of  the  boy. 

In  choice  of  curricula  the  girls  of  immigrant  stock  are  clearly  less 
inclined  toward  the  college  preparatory  course  than  are  the  girls  of 
native  parentage.  Curiously  enough  the  reverse  is  true  of  the  boys, 
but,  since  the  boys  of  American  parentage  are  exceptionally  well  repre- 
sented in  the  scientific  course,  which  in  reality  is  a  college  preparatory 


146         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

course,  no  large  significance  should  be  attached  to  this  difference  between 
the  foreign  and  native  stock. 

THE  PUBLIC  HIGH   SCHOOL  AND   THE   NEGRO 

While  for  the  country  as  a  whole  the  proportion  of  negroes  of  high- 
school  age  to  be  found  in  our  high  schools  is  very  small,  in  the  city  of 
St.  Louis  they  do  about  as  well  as  the  whites.  A  study  of  the  student 
population  hi  the  negro  high  school  of  this  city  helps  us  to  understand 
the  difficulties  that  stand  in  the  way  of  educational  achievement  on  the 
part  of  members  of  this  race.  The  fathers  of  the  students  hi  this  high 
school  are  for  the  most  part  engaged  in  manual  labor,  and  the  lower  and 
less  respectable  grades  of  manual  labor,  particularly  personal  service 
and  common  labor.  The  negro  family  exhibits  a  large  measure  of 
disorganization,  as  indicated  by  such  crude  and  unsatisfactory  phe-' 
nomena  as  a  deceased  parent  or  a  working  mother.  In  the  high-school 
population  of  St.  Louis  the  parental  mortality  for  the  negro  children 
is  well  over  twice  as  high  as  for  the  children  of  white  stock,  and  the 
frequency  of  the  working  mother  is  between  five  and  six  tunes  as  great 
for  the  students  of  the  one  as  for  those  of  the  other  race.  All  of  which 
makes  it  safe  to  conclude  that  nowhere  else  in  the  nation  is  there  a 
similarly  large  representation  of  any  other  race  living  on  the  same  social 
and  economic  level  that  is  sending  as  large  a  proportion  of  its  children 
to  high  school  as  the  negroes  of  St.  Louis. 

The  negroes  exhibit  in  a  pronounced  fashion  the  American  trait  of 
sending  a  larger  proportion  of  their  girls  than  of  their  boys  to  high  school. 
In  choice  of  curricula,  the  negro  girls  differ  from  their  white  sisters 
chiefly  in  avoidance  of  the  two-year  commercial  curriculum  and  in  their 
very  frequent  selection  of  the  home  economics  course.  The  negro  boys 
avoid  the  general  and  concentrate  on  the  manual  training  course. 
Following  graduation,  the  negro  girls  expect  to  attend  normal  school 
and  enter  professional  service  in  much  larger  numbers  than  do  the  whites. 
And  they  are  not  apparently  looking  forward  to  clerical  service  hi 
proportionate  numbers.  Surprisingly,  in  the  case  of  the  boys,  the  only 
important  difference  between  the  two  races  is  the  much  larger  expectation 
of  college  attendance  on  the  part  of  the  negroes.  It  should  be  kept  in 
mind,  however,  that  these  conclusions  are  based  altogether  on  statements 
by  the  students,  and  consequently  require  considerable  discounting. 

THE  PUBLIC  HIGH   SCHOOL  AND  PSYCHOLOGICAL   SELECTION 

Not  only  is  the  high-school  population  selected  sociologically,  but 
it  is  selected  psychologically  as  well.  Children  of  high-school  age  not 


SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION          147 

in  high  school,  whether  they  be  in  the  evening  high  school,  the  trade 
school,  or  the  continuation  classes,  show  a  lower  intelligence  rating  on 
the  average  than  do  those  in  high  school.  But  there  is  much  overlapping 
in  the  distribution  of  ability  for  the  two  groups.  There  is  much  excellence 
out  of,  as  well  as  much  mediocrity  in,  the  high  school.  The  trade-school 
population  shows  a  particularly  wide  distribution  of  ability. 

In  the  high  school  itself  the  traditional  academic  curricula  draw  a 
higher  type  of  ability,  on  the  average,  than  do  the  newer  and  vocational 
curricula.  Here  also,  however,  the  overlapping  of  the  distributions  is 
pronounced,  and  perhaps  even  more  significant  than  the  average  differ- 
ence. 

The  children  from  the  laboring  classes  exhibit  ability  of  practically 
as  high  grade  as  do  those  from  the  other  occupational  groups.  This  is 
probably  due  to  the  much  greater  elimination  of  children  of  labor 
parentage.  Likewise  the  children  of  immigrants  do  about  as  well  on 
the  tests  as  do  the  children  of  native  stock. 

Firstborn  make  records  somewhat  superior  to  the  records  of  lastborn 
children.  This  is  probably  to  be  explained  in  terms  of  greater  elimination 
and  thus  more  rigid  selection  among  the  former.  The  intelligence  score 
also  varies  inversely  with  the  size  of  the  family.  The  explanation  here 
is  apparently  to  be  found  in  the  limitation  of  births  among  the  more 
foresighted  elements  in  the  population. 

THE  POPULATION   OF  THE  PRIVATE   SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

In  the  population  of  the  private  secondary  school,  which  charges  a 
considerable  tuition  fee  and  which  is  fundamentally  college  preparatory 
in  its  function,  we  probably  have  as  accurate  a  picture  as  we  can  get 
today  of  the  sources  from  which  the  private  academy  drew  its  students 
before  the  rise  of  the  free  public  high  school.  While  this  picture  is 
certainly  not  accurate  to  the  details,  the  general  outlines  in  all  proba- 
bility do  not  falsify  the  facts. 

Taking  the  student  populations  of  Exeter  Academy  and  the  Univer- 
sity of  Chicago  High  School,  we  find  the  laboring  classes  practically 
absent,  in  contrast  to  a  representation  of  29  per  cent  in  the  public  high 
school.  Furthermore,  these  two  schools  draw  almost  three-fourths  of 
their  students  from  two  occupational  groups — the  proprietors  and 
professional  service.  Also  almost  90  per  cent  of  these  students  are  of 
native  parentage.  Thus,  while  we  may  say  that  public  secondary 
education  is  still  highly  selective,  it  is  obvious  that  it  has  been  and 
might  be  much  more  so. 


148          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

CONCLUSION 

Little  need  be  said  in  conclusion.  The  story  that  has  been  told  in 
the  foregoing  pages  is  not  a  new  one.  Misfortune,  as  well  as  fortune, 
passes  from  generation  to  generation.  The  children  of  unfortunate  par- 
entage are  unfortunate,  assuming  here  that  the  current  secondary  edu- 
cation is  worth  to  the  individual  some  fraction  of  its  cost.  The  ancient 
adage,  "To  them  that  hath  shall  be  given,"  is  true  today  as  in  olden 
times.  When  not  preserved  through  the  operation  of  biological  forces, 
the  inequalities  among  individuals  and  classes  are  still  perpetuated  to  a 
considerable  degree  in  the  social  inheritance.  While  the  establishment 
of  the  free  public  high  school  marked  an  extraordinary  educational 
advance,  it  did  not  by  any  means  equalize  educational  opportunity; 
for  the  cost  of  tuition  is  not  the  entire  cost  of  education,  or  even  the 
larger  part  of  it.  Education  means  leisure,  and  leisure  is  an  expensive 
luxury.  In  most  cases  today  this  leisure  must  be  guaranteed  the  indi- 
vidual by  the  family.  Thus  secondary  education  remains  largely  a 
matter  for  family  initiative  and  concern,  and  reflects  the  inequalities 
of  family  means  and  ambition. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  DEMOCRACY 

More  than  twenty  years  ago  John  Dewey,  in  the  opening  paragraph 
of  his  School  and  Society,  gave  this  expression  to  his  conception  of  the 
ideal  relation  that  society  should  sustain  toward  its  children:  "What 
the  best  and  wisest  parent  wants  for  his  own  child,  that  must  the  com- 
munity want  for  all  of  its  children.  Any  other  ideal  for  our  schools  is 
narrow  and  unlovely;  acted  upon,  it  destroys  our  democracy."  With 
this  ideal,  properly  interpreted,  all  believers  in  democracy  are  in  sympa- 
thetic and  complete  accord. 

At  the  present  time,  in  the  light  of  the  facts  revealed  in  this  study, 
it  is  clear  that  we  are  very  far  from  the  realization  of  this  ideal  in  our 
own  country,  at  least  in  so  far  as  secondary  education  is  concerned. 
We  are  probably  as  near  to  it,  if  not  somewhat  nearer,  than  are  the 
people  of  any  other  nation;  and  yet  the  facts  do  not  set  especially  well 
with  our  professions  of  equality  of  opportunity,  assuming  of  course  that 
secondary  education  does  increase  an  individual's  chances  for  what  we 
call  success  in  modern  life,  as  well  as  contribute  to  the  general  enrichment 
of  life.  In  a  very  large  measure  participation  in  the  privileges  of  a 
secondary  education  is  contingent  on  social  and  economic  status.  In  this 
connection,  as  in  others,  it  would  be  difficult,  in  the  thought  of  Bernard 
Shaw,  to  place  too  much  emphasis  on  the  need  of  a  child's  using  wisdom 
in  the  choice  of  its  parents;  and  yet,  in  view  of  the  differential  birth- 
rate, the  number  of  chances  of  choosing  the  more  highly  educated  and 
well-to-do  parents  is  distinctly  limited,  and  is  gradually  becoming 
more  so. 

UNIVERSAL  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

But  it  may  be  maintained  that  this  ideal  of  equality  of  educational 
opportunity  does  not  mean  sameness  of  opportunity,  nor  does  it  mean 
necessarily  equality  in  years  of  educational  experience.  Some  natures, 
as  certain  soils,  will  respond  to  more  intensive  cultivation  than  others. 
Surely  no  one  would  defend  the  proposition  that  all  persons  should 
continue  their  education  through  the  three  years  of  the  university 
graduate  school  in  the  interests  of  equality  of  educational  opportunity. 
The  endowment  of  the  individual  must  be  recognized  in  each  case.  The 

149 


150         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

most  that  can  be  demanded  in  recognition  of  the  ideal  is  that  the  poten- 
tialities of  the  individual  be  realized.  It  is  obvious  that  the  selective 
principle,  resulting  in  elimination,  must  appear  at  some  point  in  our 
educational  system.  But  at  what  point  should  the  principle  appear, 
and  under  what  conditions  should  it  operate? 

This  really  raises  the  question  of  the  wisdom  and  justice  of  universal 
secondary  education.  In  theory  we  are  apparently  rather  definitely 
committed  to  the  idea,  although  hi  practice  we  are  yet  very  far  from  its 
realization,  as  this  investigation  shows.  If  the  course  on  which  we  have 
embarked  is  unwise,  it  should  be  changed  while  there  is  tune  and  in 
the  light  of  a  thorough  analysis  of  the  matter.  Should  Dewey's  ideal 
apply  to  the  period  of  secondary  education  ?  What  is  the  place  of  sec- 
ondary education  in  a  democracy  ?  Let  us  pass  to  the  various  consid- 
erations which  these  questions  bring  to  mind. 

THE   FINANCIAL  OBJECTION 

It  has  been  pointed  out  with  truth  that  our  people  have  embarked 
upon  this  ambitious  program  of  secondary  education  without  fully 
realizing  the  financial  burden  that  such  a  program  entails.  The  increase 
in  high-school  enrolment  has  not  been  unattended  by  increasing  costs. 
In  fact  today  we  hear  from  various  quarters  the  complaints  of  the  tax- 
payer as  he  is  asked  to  meet  increasingly  heavy  demands  on  his  pocket- 
book  for  educational  purposes.  Undoubtedly  a  further  extension  of 
secondary  education  will  mean  greater  educational  costs.  The  education 
of  all  children  of  high-school  age  would  probably  involve  four  times  the 
present  expenditure,  with  no  improvement  in  the  quality  of  instruction. 
This  statement  of  course  disregards  those  economies  that  would  be 
realized  in  the  small  high  schools  through  a  more  intensive  use  of  the 
present  teaching  staff  and  material  equipment.  This  would  result  in  an 
increase  in  the  cost  of  secondary  education  to  a  figure  somewhere  between 
one-half  and  three-quarters  of  a  billion  of  dollars.  And  in  the  minds 
of  some  people  such  expenditure  is  too  stupendous  to  be  entertained 
for  a  moment. 

A  further  analysis  is  needed,  however,  to  discover  the  real  nature 
of  this  opposition  to  further  educational  expenditure.  Is  it  that  the 
economic  system  is  unable  to  bear  the  added  burden;  that  the  methods 
of  taxation  are  antiquated  and  not  adapted  to  modern  conditions;  or 
merely  that  the  people  do  not  regard  a  further  extension  of  secondary 
education  as  worth  the  cost  ?  The  first  of  these  questions  must  certainly 
be  answered  in  the  negative.  -Any  nation  that  can  spend  billions  on 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  DEMOCRACY  151 

armaments  can  spend  a  half  billion  on  secondary  education,  if  it  so 
desires.  A  people  that  spends  annually  three  billions  of  dollars  on 
luxurious  services,  over  two  billions  on  tobacco  and  snuff,  one  billion  on 
candy,  and  three-quarters  of  a  billion  on  perfumery  and  cosmetics,  need 
fear  neither  bankruptcy  nor  revolution  by  even  quadrupling  the  present 
expenditure  for  secondary  education.  The  economic  system  can  bear  it. 

An  affirmative  answer  to  the  second  question  can  be  as  easily 
defended  as  the  negative  answer  to  the  first.  The  methods  of  taxation 
for  the  support  of  education  are  antiquated  and  do  not  insure  an  equitable 
distribution  of  the  burden.  A  century  ago  the  property  tax  was  fair, 
because  property  was  tangible  and  usually  a  satisfactory  index  of  an 
individual's  ability  to  pay.  Today  the  situation  is  quite  different,  due 
to  industrialization  and  the  increased  complexity  of  an  economic  life 
in  which  property  assumes  many  intangible  forms  and  is  no  longer  a 
fair  index  of  ability  to  pay.  The  increase  of  educational  costs  demands, 
on  the  part  of  educators,  close  attention  to  the  problems  of  taxation. 

The  third  question  is  also  an  important  and  even  basic  one.  We  may 
at  least  say  with  assurance  that,  if  the  majority  of  the  people  want  a 
further  extension  of  secondary  education,  they  will  get  it  regardless  of 
the  cost,  that  is,  if  they  want  it  as  much  or  more  than  they  want  tobacco, 
snuff,  candy,  perfumery,  cosmetics,  and  other  things,  for  which  they  are 
spending  their  money  now.  Whether  or  not  they  want  it  will  depend 
on  two  things:  first,  the  value  of  secondary  education;  and  second, 
their  realization  of  its  value.  Both  of  these  are,  in  large  measure,  prob- 
lems for  the  educator.  On  the  one  hand,  he  must  organize  and  administer 
secondary  education  in  such  a  way  and  with  such  clarity  of  purpose 
that  its  value  will  be  unequivocal  and  patent  to  the  ordinary  citizen 
without  the  interposition  of  educational  sophistry  and  cant.  Educational 
purpose  and  educational  accomplishment  must  be  stated  in  terms  of 
those  things  that  most  people  regard  as  valuable  and  worth  while. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  educator  must  inform  the  citizen  that  secondary 
education  is  so  organized  and  so  administered.  Only  when  people  are 
made  to  feel  that  education  is  as  valuable  as  tobacco  and  cosmetics  will 
they  be  as  willing  to  spend  their  money  for  the  one  as  for  the  other. 
But  certainly  the  matter  of  cost  is  not  in  itself  a  sufficient  reason  for 
opposing  universal  secondary  education. 

PUBLIC   SUPPORT   OF   SELECTIVE   EDUCATION 

There  is  another  side  to  this  question  of  finance  that  deserves 
attention.  At  the  present  time  the  public  high  school  is  attended  quite 


152          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

largely  by  the  children  of  the  more  well-to-do  classes.  This  affords  us 
the  spectacle  of  a  privilege  being  extended  at  public  expense  to  those 
very  classes  that  already  occupy  the  privileged  positions  in  modern 
society.  The  poor  are  contributing  to  provide  secondary  education  for 
the  children  of  the  rich,  but  are  either  too  poor  or  too  ignorant  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunities  which  they  help  to  provide.  But  it  will 
be  answered  that  the  high  school  is  supported  by  taxation,  and  that  the 
poor  do  not  pay  taxes.  This  is  obviously  an  unsound  position  to  assume, 
since  all  people  who  wear  clothes,  eat  food,  and  live  in  houses  do  pay 
taxes  either  directly  or  indirectly.  Of  course,  no  assumption  is  made 
here  that  all  taxes  are  shifted  to  the  consuming  public,  for  they  are  not. 
Some  are  shifted  altogether,  others  only  partially,  and  still  others  not  at 
all.  The  consumer  does  pay  taxes,  but  not  the  consumer  only — this 
and  no  more  is  assumed,  but  it  is  sufficient  to  warrant  the  foregoing 
statement. 

It  is  sometimes  said  in  extenuation  of  this  condition  that  society 
as  a  whole  profits  from  the  education  of  the  few  through  the  superior 
service  that  the  few  render;  and  there  is  much  that  may  be  said  in 
support  of  this  theoretical  position.  In  fact  this  is  about  the  only 
justification  for  public  support  of  higher  and  professional  education, 
which  are  necessarily  selective.  Yet  in  practice  it  must  be  admitted 
that  many  individuals  use  the  gifts  of  society  for  self-aggrandizement  and 
are  quite  unconscious  of  any  social  obligation.  This  is  particularly  true 
of  education  in  its  various  forms  which  has  been  regarded  too  much  as  a 
natural  right  or  gift  from  God  and  too  little  as  a  preparation  for  social 
service.  Indeed  in  many  quarters  it  is  even  looked  upon  primarily  as 
a  means  of  avoiding  the  hard  and  disagreeable  work  of  the  world  and 
a  sure  road  to  those  callings  that  combine  high  remuneration  and 
respectability  with  the  comforts  of  life.  Elementary  education,  which 
is  guaranteed  to  all,  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  a  natural  right,  but 
secondary  education,  limited  as  it  is,  can  be  justified  at  all  only  in  terms 
of  the  unqualified  recognition  on  the  part  of  the  high-school  student  of 
the  social  obligation  involved.  There  is  no  such  recognition  in  the  public 
high  school  today,  although  the  narrow  source  of  its  students  makes 
this  obviously  and  peculiarly  necessary. 

THE  PERIL  TO   SOCIAL  STABILITY 

In  some  countries  the  universalizing  of  secondary  education  would 
be  viewed  with  alarm  on  the  grounds  that  it  would  produce  social 
instability  and  result  in  the  disintegration  of  the  established  order. 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  DEMOCRACY  153 

Indeed,  such  a  disquieting  view  has  been  taken  by  some  foreign  educators 
of  the  effect  of  our  limited  (though  extensive  in  comparison  "with  other 
countries)  secondary  education  on  American  society.  The  idea  back 
of  this  view  is  apparently  that  it  is  dangerous  for  any  society  to  produce 
a  larger  number  of  trained  minds  capable  of  self-direction  and  critical 
thought  than  may  be  required  to  fill  the  customary  positions  of  leader- 
ship. Unquestionably  there  is  something  in  this  argument,  if  we  look 
at  it  from  the  standpoint  of  those  occupying  the  strategic  and  privileged 
positions  in  the  existing  order  and  who  may  consequently  be  expected 
to  lose  through  any  change  that  might  be  effected.  On  the  other  hand, 
if  we  are  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  great  mass  of  the  people,  there 
is  nothing  to  fear  in  the  universalizing  of  secondary  education;  in  the 
very  considerable  increase  in  the  number  of  individuals  capable  of 
thoughtful  leadership  in  every  class  of  the  population;  in  the  presence 
of  larger  numbers  of  persons  qualified  to  serve  as  informed  and  critical 
followers  in  the  various  social  groups.  In  other  words,  any  individual 
or  any  class  depending  on  special  privilege  of  any  sort  for  its  position  in 
society  has  good  reason  for  fearing  the  further  extension  of  secondary 
education;  all  others  may  look  upon  such  change  with  equanimity. 
It  is  of  course  assumed  that  this  further  extension  would  take  into 
consideration  all  differences  in  individual  aptitude  and  interest. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL  DIFFICULTY 

Perhaps  the  strongest  objection  to  universal  secondary  education 
is  the  psychological  objection,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  an 
earlier  paragraph.  The  wide  range  of  intelligence  among  children  of  a 
particular  age  is  well  known,  and  we  may  assume  the  same  for  other 
psychological  traits.  Nature  has  thus  set  limits  to  the  educability  of 
all  her  children.  In  some  this  limit  is  very  low,  as  in  others  it  is  extra- 
ordinarily high;  at  the  one  extreme  is  the  idiot  who  can  profit  but  little 
from  either  experience  or  instruction,  while  at  the  other  is  the  child  of 
genius  for  whom  the  most  difficult  intellectual  tasks  are  easy  and  whose 
hours  of  instruction  are  very  productive.  To  the  one,  secondary 
education  is  out  of  the  question,  while  to  the  other,  it  is  scarcely  the 
beginning  of  an  education  that  will  continue  throughout  life. 

If,  however,  we  think  less  in  terms  of  the  extremes,  which  account 
for  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  total  number  of  cases,  and  more  hi 
terms  of  the  great  mass  of  individuals  in  between,  much  of  the  force  of 
this  objection  is  destroyed.  There  are  undoubtedly  individuals  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  distribution  for  whom  education  during  the  adolescent 


154          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

years  would  be  unprofitable,  because  intellectual  maturity  is  already 
practically  attained,  and  on  a  very  low  level.  Just  how  high  the  intelli- 
gence level  should  be  in  order  to  profit  from  twelve  years  of  instruction, 
which  takes  the  child  through  the  elementary  and  secondary  schools,  is  a 
question  as  yet  unanswered.  For  certain  types  of  subject-matter  the 
level  obviously  would  be  higher  than  for  others.  It  seems  reasonable 
to  assume  that,  through  the  proper  adaptation  of  subject-matter  and 
methods  of  instruction,  secondary  education  might  be  so  administered 
as  to  be  profitable  for  all  except  those  who  are  clearly  feeble-minded. 
This  would  of  course  involve  a  thoroughgoing  departure  from  the  cur- 
ricula and  methods  of  the  conventional  type,  which  are  the  legitimate 
offspring  of  the  selective  principle. 

That  there  is  some  scientific  justification  for  the  psychological  objec- 
tion to  universal  secondary  education  is  admitted,  but  such  justification 
does  not  extend  to  present  practice.  Much  might  be  said  for  a  secondary 
education  that  is  based  frankly  and  definitely  on  the  principle  of  psycho- 
logical selection,  but  ours  is  not  of  that  type.  It  is  true,  as  this  study 
shows,  that  on  the  average,  high-school  students  exhibit  a  higher  intelli- 
gence level  than  do  those  children  of  high-school  age  not  in  high  school. 
But  what  is  the  explanation?  That  the  high  school  has  purposefully 
selected  these  individuals  because  of  their  superior  ability?  Not  at 
all,  or  at  least  not  altogether,  by  any  means.  It  seems  just  as  probable 
that  the  selection  is  sociological  first  and  psychological  second;  that 
children  enter  and  remain  in  high  school  because  they  come  from  the 
homes  of  the  influential  and  more  fortunate  classes,  and  not  because 
of  their  greater  ability.  It  is  the  usual  thing  for  these  two  to  go  together, 
but  a  society  is  conceivable  in  which  by  some  chance  the  individuals  in 
the  upper  social  and  economic  strata  incline  toward  intellectual  medi- 
ocrity. In  such  a  society,  assuming  the  large  parental  influence  in  deter- 
mining educational  opportunity  which  characterizes  our  o'wn  system, 
the  children  in  high  school  might  represent  on  the  average  a  lower 
type  of  ability  than  those  on  the  outside.  Admitting  that  this  is  an 
extreme  statement  of  the  case,  it  nevertheless  contains  a  certain  element 
of  truth.  The  high-school  population  includes  many  individuals  of 
mediocre  and  inferior  ability,  and  the  population  of  high-school  age  not 
in  high  school  includes  many  of  superior  talent,  although  the  proportion 
on  the  upper  levels  is  larger  inside  the  high  school.  At  the  present 
time  we  have  neither  universal  secondary  education,  on  the  one  hand, 
nor  selection  according  to  any  defensible  principle,  on  the  other. 


THE  HIGH  SCHOOL  AND  DEMOCRACY  155 

LITTLE  PLACE   IN   INDUSTRY  FOR  ADOLESCENTS 

One  other  consideration  favoring  a  further  extension  of  secondary 
education  deserves  mention.  In  the  Cleveland  vocational  survey  it 
was  found  that  there  is  practically  no  place  in  modern  industry  for 
children  under  sixteen  or  seventeen  years  of  age.  Normally,  below  this 
age  a  child  enters  an  occupation  with  but  little  profit  to  either  himself  or 
society.  Since  there  is  so  much  that  needs  to  be  done  in  preparing  these 
young  people  for  the  many  and  varied  responsibilities  of  citizenship, 
vocation,  parenthood,  and  the  other  important  activities  of  life,  and  since 
this  can  hardly  be  accomplished  in  the  elementary  school,  it  seems  the 
part  of  wisdom  to  enrich  their  lives  and  equip  them  to  become  more 
useful  members  of  society  through  the  agency  of  the  secondary  school. 

A  BROADER  PROGRAM  NECESSARY 

The  methods  to  be  employed  in  bringing  the  opportunities  of  second- 
ary education  to  practically  all  adolescents,  regardless  of  class  distinc- 
tion, can  hardly  be  discussed  here.  Undoubtedly  our  compulsory- 
education  laws  will  have  to  be  extended  beyond  the  period  of  elementary 
education,  and  several  states  are  already  leading  the  way.  We  shall 
have  to  abandon  our  conventional  ideas  of  secondary  education  as 
necessarily  involving  a  four-year  school,  or  a  six-year  school  as  under 
the  reorganization,  in  which  students  attend  four  to  six  hours  in  the 
middle  of  the  day  for  five  days  of  the  week  during  some  nine  or  ten 
months  of  the  autumn,  winter,  and  spring  seasons.  Pedagogical 
traditions  and  administrative  conveniences  will  have  to  adapt  themselves 
to  the  conditions  of  life.  Whether  or  not  the  community  will  have  to  go 
beyond  the  provision  of  free  tuition  and  free  textbooks  to  at  least  a  partial 
support  of  the  student  during  his  period  of  attendance  at  school  is  a  nice 
question.  In  certain  cities  where  poverty  and  ignorance  are  to  be  found 
in  their  most  extreme  forms  the  community  will  probably  have  to  bear 
responsibilities  that  the  home  or  the  individual  will  carry  in  others. 
But  these  are  matters  to  be  determined  in  the  light  of  experience. 

CONCLUSION 

In  our  march  toward  the  educational  ideal  referred  to  at  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter  and  which  is  clearly  compatible  with  the  professed 
ideals  of  our  democracy,  we  must  recognize  two  principles.  In  the  first 
place,  up  to  a  certain  point  in  our  educational  system  we  must  have 
practically  complete  attendance  of  all  the  children  of  the  community 


156          SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

with  adequate  provision  for  individual  differences  in  ability,  aptitude, 
and  interest.  Where  this  point  should  be  is,  in  the  main,  an  unanswered 
question,  although  there  is  some  evidence  that  we  shall  place  it  well  up 
into  the  secondary  period  and  possibly  at  its  close.  The  writer  is 
inclined  to  favor  the  latter  practice,  because  of  the  tremendous  educa- 
tional demands  of  an  infinitely  complex  world  that  is  rapidly  becoming 
a  single  society.  In  the  second  place,  beyond  this  point  of  complete 
attendance,  in  so  far  as  public  education  is  concerned,  further  education 
must  rest  on  some  objective  basis  rather  than  on  the  chances  of  circum- 
stance and  the  whims  of  fortune.  In  theory  today  the  public  supports 
higher  education  for  the  purpose  of  securing  trained  persons  to  perform 
those  important  services  that  require  special  types  of  ability,  knowledge, 
skill,  and  discipline.  But  no  serious  effort  is  made  to  discover  the  number 
of  trained  persons  of  each  type  required  and  the  amount  of  training 
necessary  in  each  case;  nor  is  there  a  diligent  search  made  through  the 
lower  school  population  for  those  special  and  superior  types  of  ability 
that  will  most  satisfactorily  do  those  things  that  society  wants  done. 
Beyond  the  compulsory-school  period  a  boy  attends  high  school  or  college, 
not  necessarily  because  of  any  special  promise,  but  possibly  because  he 
is  the  only  child  of  fond  and  well-to-do  parents  or  because  he  likes  foot- 
ball. To  be  sure,  we  make  certain  minimal  demands  of  a  formal  sort, 
but  the  larger  purposes  of  this  selective  education  are  obscured,  and  they 
will  remain  so  until  they  are  clearly  denned  and  their  implications  find 
definite  expression  in  practice  and  tradition.  Why  should  we  provide  at 
public  expense  these  advanced  educational  opportunities  for  X  because 
his  father  is  a  banker  and  practically  deny  them  to  Y  because  his  father 
cleans  the  streets  of  the  city  ?  We  must  distinguish  between  that  educa- 
tion which  is  for  all,  and  that  which  is  for  the  few.  At  present  our  second- 
ary education  is  of  the  first  type  in  theory,  and  of  the  second  in  practice 
We  must  bring  the  theory  and  practice  together:  either  open  the  doors 
of  the  high  school  to  all  children,  and  take  care  that  all  enter  without 
favor,  or  frankly  close  its  doors  to  all  but  a  select  group,  adopt  objective 
methods  or  selection,  and  teach  to  this  selected  group  the  meaning  of 
social  obligation.  There  is  no  other  course  that  leads  to  democracy, 
that  puts  the  high  school  at  the  service  of  every  class  without  distinction, 
and  at  the  same  time  renders  the  largest  service  to  the  entire  community. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Accuracy  of  returns,  1 2 

Adolescence,  secondary  education  as  edu- 
cation for,  3 

Adolescents,  little  place  in  industry  for, 
i5S 

Age:  of  fathers  of  high-school  students, 
30,  97;  of  mothers  of  high-school 
students,  97 

Agricultural  service,  classification  of,  22 

Artisan-proprietors,  classification  of,  22 

Austro-Hungarian  Empire,  107 

Austro-Hungarians:  representation  of, 
in  high  school,  109;  ratio  of  boys  to 
girls  in  high  school  among,  113 

Boys  to  girls  in  high  school,  ratio  of,  113 

Bridgeport,  5,  9 

British  Empire,  107;  representation  in 
college  preparatory  course  of  peoples 
of,  ii i ;  representation  in  high  school 
of  peoples  of,  108-9 

Broader  program  of  secondary  education 
necessary,  155 

Brothers  and  sisters  of  high-school  stu- 
dents, number  of,  102-4 

Building  and  related  trades,  classification 
of,  23 

Bureau  of  Education,  i,  2,  26,  114,  135 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Seattle,  9 

Chapman-Welles  Test,  9,  124 

Children:  of  high-school  age,  2-3;  of 
high-school  age  in  high  school,  2-3,  20 

Children  at  work  in  Seattle,  5,  9,  46-48; 
mortality  of  parents  of,  99;  occupa- 
tions of  parents  of,  46-48,  142 

Children  of  high  school  age  not  in  high 
school,  2-3,  5,  9,  ii,  46  ff.;  intelligence 
test  records  of,  125-27;  mortality  of 
parents  of,  99-100;  occupations  of 
parents  of,  52-54,  142 

Chinese  in  Seattle,  16 

Cities  studied,  the  four,  14  ff.;  geo- 
graphical location  of,  14;  history  of, 
15-16;  industries  of,  18;  occupations 
of  people  of,  17-18;  property  in,  value 
of,  18;  proportion  of  children  in  high 
school  in,  20;  racial  and  ethnic  compo- 
sition of  people  of,  16-17 


Classification  of  occupations,  21-25 
Clerical  service,  classification  of  ,'2  2 
Commercial  service,  classification"of,  22 
Common  labor,  classification  of,  23 
Comparison:    of  high-school  population 
and     adult     population,     28  ff.;      of 
high-school  Seniors  and  adult  popula- 
tion, 42-43;  of  sixth  grade  and  Senior 
year  of  high  school,  41-42 
Compulsory     continuation     classes     of 
Bridgeport,    6,    ii;     intelligence   test 
records  of  children  in,  125-27;    mor- 
tality of  parents  of  children  in,  99-100; 
occupations  of  parents  of  children  in, 
Si-52 

Course  of  study  and  parental  occupation, 
55  ff.;  of  high-school  students  in 
Bridgeport,  55-58;  of  high-school  stu- 
dents in  Mt.  Vernon,  58-62;  of  high- 
school  students  in  St.  Louis,  62-68; 
of  high-school  students  in  Seattle, 
68-72 

Cultural  level  and  educational  oppor- 
tunity, 87  ff.  • 

Democracy  and  the  high  school,  149  ff. 
Democratization    of    secondary    educa- 
tion, 140 
Denmark,  107 
Dewey,  John,  149 

Elementary-school  enrolment,  i,  2 
Equality  of  educational  opportunity,  149 
Evening  high  school  of  Bridgeport,  6,  ii; 
intelligence  test  records  of  students  in, 
125-27;    mortality  of  parents  of  stu- 
dents   in,    99-100;     occupations    of 
parents  of  students  in,  48-50 
Exceptions  to  method  of  procedure,  8-9 
Expectations:  of  boys  following  gradua- 
tion, 81  ff.;   of  girls  following  gradua- 
tion, 75  ff.;   following  graduation,  and 
parental  occupation,  74  ff . 

Family:  size  of,  and  educational  oppor- 
tunity, 102-4;  influences  and  high- 
school  attendance,  94  ff.,  144 

Fathers:  of  high-school  students,  age  of, 
30;  of  high-school  students,  mortality 
of,  96 


159 


160         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


Financial  objection  to  universal  second- 
ary education,  150 

Geographical  location  of  four  cities 
studied,  14 

Germans:  representation  of,  in  college 
preparatory  course,  112;  representa- 
tion of,  in  high  school,  109 

Germany,  107,  108 

Girls:  planning  to  enter  clerical  service, 
77-79;  planning  to  enter  college, 
77-79J  planning  to  enter  normal 
school,  77-79;  to  boys  in  high 
school,  ratio  of,  113 

Hebrews,  107,  108 

High  school,  growth  of,  i,  2 

History  of  four  cities  studied,  14-15 

Immigrant,  the,  and  high-school  attend- 
ance, 1 06  ff.,  145-46 

Industries  of  four  cities  studied,  18-19 

Information  card,  6 

Instructions,  set  of,  7-8 

Intelligence  tests:  administering  the,  ip; 
number  taking,  n;  records  of  chil- 
dren from  different  immigrant  groups 
in,  131-32;  records  of  children  from 
different  occupational  groups  in,  129- 
31;  records  of  children  from  families 
of  different  sizes  in,  133-34;  records  of 
children  in  different  high-school  years 
in,  124-25;  records  of  children  pur- 
suing different  curricula  in,  127-29; 
records  of  children  not  in  high  school 
in,  125-27;  records  of  first-  and  last- 
born  children  in,  132-33 

Ireland,  107 

Irish:  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  in  high  school 
among,  113;  representation  of,  in 
college  preparatory  course,  111-12; 
representation  of,  in  high  school,  109 

Italians:  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  in  high 
school  among,  113;  representation  of, 
in  college  preparatory  course,  111-12; 
representation  of,  in  compulsory  con- 
tinuation classes,  no;  representation 
of,  in  high  school,  109 

Japanese  in  Seattle,  16 
Jews  (see  Russian  Jews) 

Laboring  classes:  and  high  school  of  the 
four  cities,  38-39;  representation  of, 
in  public  and  private  secondary  schools 
compared,  138-39 


Life  tables,  97 

Lincoln  High  School  of  Seattle,  30 

Little  place  in  industry  for  adolescents, 


Machine  and  related  trades,  classifica- 

tion of,  23 

Managerial  service,  classification  of,  22 
Method:   of  procedure,  6-8;    exceptions 

to,  8-9 

Miners,  lumber  workers,  and  fishermen, 
classification  of,  23 

Miscellaneous  trades,  classification  of,  23 

Mortality:  of  parents  and  educational 
opportunity,  100;  of  parents  of  chil- 
dren at  work  in  Seattle,  99;  of  parents 
of  children  not  in  high  school  in  Bridge- 
port, 99-100;  of  parents  of  high-school 
students,  95  ff.;  in  different  cities, 
96-97;  of  parents  of  students  in  differ- 
ent high-school  years,  98 

Mother,  occupation  of,  and  educational 
opportunity,  100-102 

Mothers  of  high-school  students,  age  of, 

97 
Mt.  Vernon,  5,  9 

National  Intelligence  Tests,  5,  10,  124 

Native  stock:  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  in 
high  school  of,  113-14;  representation 
of,  in  college  preparatory  course, 
111-12;  representation  of,  in  high 
school,  109 

Nativity:  of  fathers  of  students  in 
private  secondary  schools,  139-40; 
of  parent  and  children  not  in  high 
school,  108-9;  of  parent  and  choice  of 
curricula,  111-12;  of  parent  and 
education  of  girls,  113;  of  parent  and 
progress  through  high  school,  108 

Negro:  and  choice  of  curricula,  118-20; 
and  expectations  following  gradua- 
tion, 120;  and  family  influences,  116- 
1  7  ;  and  number  of  brothers  and  sisters, 
1  1  8;  and  occupation  of  mother,  117- 
18;  and  parental  mortality,  117;  and 
parental  occupation,  115-16;  and  the 
public  high  school,  ii4ff.,  146;  chil- 
dren, educational  handicap  of,  122 

Negroes  of  St.  Louis,  10,  16;  remarkable 
educational  record  of,  122 

New  immigration,  16-17,  I08,  113 

Non-high-school  groups  studied,  n 

Norway,  107 


INDEX 


161 


Number:  of  brothers  and  sisters  of  high- 
school  students,  102-4;  of  brothers 
and  sisters  of  students  in  private 
secondary  schools,  130-40;  of  cases 
studied,  10 

Objections  to  universal  secondary  educa- 
tion, 150-54 

Occupation:  change  of,  45;  importance 
of,  21 ;  of  mother  and  educational 
opportunity,  100-102 

Occupational  census,  31 

Occupations,  classification  of,  21-25 

Occupations:  of  fathers  of  high-school 
students,  26  ff.;  cities  compared  with 
respect  to,  26-27  (see  Parental  occupa- 
tion); of  people  of  four  cities  studied, 
17-18 

Old  immigration,  16-17,  108 

Old  and  new  immigration,  differences 
between,  108,113 

Order  of  birth  and  educational  oppor- 
tunity, 104-5 

Parental  occupation:  importance  of,  21; 
and  children  at  work  in  Seattle,  46-48, 
142;  and  children  in  compulsory 
continuation  classes  of  Bridgeport, 
51-52,  142;  and  children  in  sixth 
grade,  39-41;  and  children  in  trade 
school,  50-51,  142;  and  children  not 
in  high  school,  52-54,  142;  and  course 
of  study,  55  ff.;  and  expectations 
following  graduation,  74  ff. ;  and  high- 
school  population,  26,  141;  and  high- 
school  Seniors,  41-45;  and  students  in 
evening  high  school,  48-50,  142;  and 
students  in  private  secondary  schools, 
137-39 

Peril  to  social  stability  of  universal 
secondary  education,  152-53 

Personal  service,  classification  of,  23 

Phillips-Exeter  Academy,  6,  136 

Poland,  107,  108 

Poles:  ratio  of  boys  to  girls  in  high  school 
among,  113;  representation  in  high 
school  of,  109 

Population  of  four  cities  studied,  15; 
nativity  of,  17;  occupations  of,  17-18; 
racial  and  ethnic  character  of,  16 

Population  of  United  States,  i,  2 
Printing  trades,  classification  of,  23 

Private  secondary  schools,  135  ff.,  147; 
number  of  students  in,  135 


Probable  occupations:  of  fathers  of  one- 
hundred  high-school  Seniors,  43-44; 
of  fathers  of  one  hundred  high-school 
students,  29 

Program  of  secondary  education  neces- 
sary, broader,  155 

Professional  service,  classification  of,  22 

Property  in  four  cities  studies,  value  of, 
19 

Proportion:  of  children  in  high  school,  20; 
of  men  over  forty-five  in  each  occupa- 
tion, 32 

Proprietors,  classification  of,  22 

Psychological  objection  to  universal 
secondary  education,  153-54 

Psychological  selection  of  high-school 
population,  1245.,  146-47 

Public  service,  classification,  23 

Public  support  of  selective  education, 
151-52 

Racial  and  ethnic  composition  of  people 
of  four  cities  studied,  16-17 

Ratio  of  boys  to  girls  in  high  school,  113 

Representation:  of  different  occupational 
groups  in  high  school,  33;  of  different 
occupational  groups  in  Freshman  and 
Senior  years,  36  ff.;  of  laboring  classes 
in  public  and  private  secondary  schools 
compared,  138-39 

Russia,  107,  108 

Russian  Jews,  107;  ratio  of  boys  to  girls 
in  high  school  among,  113;  represen- 
tation in  college  preparatory  course  of, 
ii i;  representation  in  high  school  of, 
109 

St.  Louis,  5,  9 

Scandinavia,  107 

Scandinavians:  representation  of,  in 
college  preparatory  course,  112;  repre- 
sentation of,  in  high  school,  109 

Seattle,  5,  9 

Secondary  education:  as  education  for 
adolescence,  3;  question  of  universal, 
149  ff. 

Sex  of  high-school  students,  10 
Sexes,  ratio  of,  in  high  school,  113 
Sixth  grade  of  Mt.  Vernon,  6,  n;   mor- 
tality of  parents  of  children  in,   98; 
social    composition    of,    39-41;     tele- 
phones in  homes  of  children  in,  92-93 
Size  of  family  and  educational  oppor- 
tunity, 102-4 


162         SELECTIVE  CHARACTER  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 


Smith-Hughes  Act,  6 

Soldan  High  School  of  St.  Louis,  13 

Stability,   peril   of   universal   secondary 

education  to  social,  152-53 
Students    not    expecting    to    complete 

high-school  course,  84-86 
Sumner  High  School  of  St.  Louis,   26, 

ii4ff. 
Sweden,  107 

Taussig's  classification  of  occupations,  2 1 
Telephone:    in  home  and  choice  of  cur- 
ricula, 91-92;    in  home  and  different 
high-school  years,  90-91 
Telephones:  in  Bridgeport,  89;  in  homes 
of   different   groups   of   children,    90; 
in  Mt.  Vernon,  92-93;   number  of,  in 
different  states,  88-89 


Trade  school,  6,  1 1 ;  mortality  of  parents 
of  children  in,  99-100;  occupations  of 
parents  of  children  in,  50-5 1 

Transportation  service,  classification  of, 
23 

Tuition  fees,  136 

United  States,  107,  108;    population  of, 

I,  2 

Universal  secondary  education,  149  ff.; 
financial  objection  to,  150;  peril  to 
social  stability  of,  152-53;  psycho- 
logical objection  to,  153-54 

University  of  Chicago  High  School,  6,  136 

Value  of  property  in  four  cities  studied,  18 
Washington  Irving  High  School,  3 


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